Turkish curfew ends in Kurdish town, leaves nine dead

ERBIL (K24) — A fortnight-curfew imposed by the Turkish authorities in the town of Nisebin, in the province of Merdin, North Kurdistan, ended on Thursday morning. The two weeks of violence between Turkish government forces and Kurdish PKK-affiliated youth saw nine civilians killed, and 20 others wounded.

In the 15 neighbourhoods that were put under curfew in the town, some 60 kilometers south-east of Merdin, alongside the Syrian border, hundreds of houses and buildings came under fire, devastating those families inside.

During the curfew imposed by the Ankara-appointed sub-governor, electricity and water were cut off, landline telephones, GSM services, and the Internet lines were down in the town home to more than 80,000 people.

After the announcement that the curfew had ended, Turkish forces left the town, and people were able to access the markets to buy food.

Ten days ago, 44-year-old Selamet Yesilmen was killed, and two of her children (10 and 14) were wounded in front of her house when they left their home in the morning.

A first curfew that lasted for six days was imposed before, early in November. During the clashes then, two civilians were killed reportedly by Turkish police snipers based on rooftops.

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