Turkey starts military operation in Kurdish town

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (K24) - A Turkish military operation began in the early hours of Wednesday in the Kurdish town of Idil (Hezex) in Sirnak Province, one day after a curfew order was announced.

The governorate imposed the curfew in response to barricades and trenches made by Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) affiliates who claim autonomous self-rule in the neighborhoods they control.

At least 4,000 members of the Special Police and Gendarme forces were sent to Idil, reported Turkish Dogan News Agency.

Turkish Army tanks shelled the neighborhoods of Turgut Ozal and Yeni Mahalle as the town's main electricity transformer exploded, rendering thousands of homes without power, reported the agency. The cause of the explosion could not be independently verified.

Additionally, the curfew extended to the village of Dirsekli, which is adjacent to the town. Some 500 people of a total population of 1,000 reportedly left the village amidst violent altercations. A former Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) member of the parliament, Hasip Kaplan who is from

Former Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) parliamentarian, Hasip Kaplan, who is from Dirsekli himself, tweeted his condemnation of the curfew and accused authorities of "going mad," since there were no barricades or trenches in the village.

Military helicopters were heard flying above, and tanks en route to Idil played nationalistic songs, amateur footage published on social media showed.

Meanwhile, in the central Sur district in the de facto Kurdish capital of Diyarbakir--where a curfew and ensuing conflict entered its 78day, a Turkish soldier was killed in clashes with PKK youth fighters, read a statement on the official Turkish General Staff website.

Editing by Ava Homa and Benjamin Kweskin
(Siddiq Eren contributed to this story from Diyarbakir)