Turkey convenes governors of Kurdish provinces, orders curfew
Turkish authorities imposed on Sunday a round-the-clock curfew in seven villages and neighborhoods of the district of Semzinan in the Kurdish Province of Hakkari on the border with the Kurdistan Region and Iran.
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – Turkish authorities imposed on Sunday a round-the-clock curfew in seven villages and neighborhoods of the district of Semzinan in the Kurdish Province of Hakkari on the border with the Kurdistan Region and Iran.
An online press release by the Hakkari governorate said all entrances to, and exits from the villages under curfew were banned until a second notification.
The notice explained a military operation was underway against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) members.
The number of curfew-imposed villages rose to 15 this week in Semdinli district where a night-time curfew had already been in place since the end of a months-long urban warfare between Kurdish fighters and Turkish troops in June.
Meanwhile, the General Staff of Turkey declared on its website the killing of at least 20 Kurdish fighters.
The clashes took place in rural areas of Hakkari, Sirnak, Mardin, and Van provinces on Friday and Saturday.
There was no statement regarding the Turkish claims on the website of the PKK’s military wing People’s Defence Forces (HPG).
GOVERNORS CONVENED
In Ankara, Turkey’s Minister of Interior Affairs gathered the governors of the 22 Kurdish-majority provinces of Adiyaman, Agri, Ardahan, Batman, Bitlis, Bingol, Diyarbakir, Elazig, Gaziantep, Hakkari, Igdir, Kars, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Mardin, Mus, Siirt, Sanlıurfa, Sirnak, Tunceli, and Van.
Most of the provinces have alternative spellings or different names in the Kurdish language.
The powerful central government in Turkey appoints governors to its 81 provinces while citizens can only elect mayors and city council members in local elections.
Kurdistan24’s Ankara bureau reported that Turkey’s top security officials will attend a meeting where the Turkish-PKK conflict would be discussed.
The Commander of the Gendarmerie and the Chief of the National Police, the Director of Demographics and Citizenship Affairs, and other civilian authorities are expected to participate in the meeting.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany
(Reporting by Ari Khalidi)