Turkey imposes curfew on yet another Kurdish town

DIYARBEKIR (K24) - The Governorate of Diyarbekir Province announced a curfew on Thursday in nine neighborhoods in the town of Lice some 90 kilometers north of the city of Diyarbekir.

In effect since 5:00 PM local time, the Ankara-appointed governorate warned civilians that going outdoors is forbidden until further notice. The curfew is in effect in Ortulu, Arpacik, Sivri Tepe, Bilgin, Bayirli, Seyrek, Siltiko and Korha, where a military-backed police operation is underway. Turkish authorities claim the curfew aims to protect civilian lives when fighting the PKK--Kurdistan Workers Party-affiliated youth groups.

Numerous curfews have been imposed in Kurdish towns across Southeast Turkey [North Kurdistan] in the aftermath of the June 7 parliamentary elections in Turkey, most notably in the town of Cizir (Cizre) last September and Farqin (Silvan) in Diyarbekir where seven civilians were killed last week. Elsewhere, in Nisebin (Nusaybin) district of Merdin Province, a curfew has been in place for its sixth day. A pregnant mother of five, 44-year-old Selamet Yesilmen, was killed there on Sunday by Turkish forces according to her relatives, a charge authorities deny.

Meanwhile on Thursday, Turkish police in Farqin arrested six people including one teenager, accused of "insulting security forces" when Turkish soldiers were withdrawing last Saturday from the center of the town after a 12-day curfew.

(Hesen Kako and Siddiq Eren contributed to this report from Diyarbekir)