Turkey imposes curfews on nearly 40 Kurdish villages

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Kurdistan24) – The Turkish army and security forces imposed round-the-clock curfews on Friday on dozens of villages and towns of the country’s mainly Kurdish southeastern provinces of Diyarbakir and Mardin.

Kurdistan24 received a copy of a statement issued by Mardin’s governor office which indicates a curfew is imposed on 22 villages and towns in the surrounding areas of Mardin as security forces search for the members of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

“A dusk-to-dawn curfew shall be imposed on 22 villages and towns of Mardin province in anticipation of any operation or activity by PKK members who hide nearby, especially in Mazidag, Artuklu, and Derik,” the statement said.

In Diyarbakir, the governor’s office said in a statement that curfews are imposed on the towns of Silvan (known as Farqin in Kurdish) and Siirt until a further notice.

"It is important for citizens to follow the ban for the security of their lives and property," the statement read.

After the imposition of the curfew, the Turkish army and security forces launched operations in about 20 villages and hamlets of Silvan.

In response to the Turkish military operations, heavy clashes erupted in several villages around Silvan.   

Netherlands-based Kurdish Firat News Agency (ANF), a close associate of the PKK military wing, reported on Thursday that two people were killed in the clashes and their bodies were transported to a public hospital in Diyarbakir.

Since a ceasefire between the PKK and the Turkish government collapsed last July, round-the-clock curfews have been instituted in parts of the Kurdistan of Turkey (Bakur).

Four months ago, Turkish authorities declared a curfew in Mardin’s districts of Nusaybin and Sirnak followed by violent operations that led to mass destructions in both cities.

For nearly two months, both towns witnessed unceasing shelling after clashes between the Turkish army and the Kurdish fighters of PKK, along with their new youth formations YPS and HPG. 

[Kurdish protesters stage a picket against Turkey's policy towards Kurds outside the Reichstag, seat of the German lower house of Parliament Bundestag in Berlin, Germany, January 27, 2016. (Photo: Reuters)]

INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNATION

During the last six months, many international human rights groups conducted research and published reports on the atrocities and abuses committed by the Turkish security forces against the civilians in Bakur.

This week, New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that the Turkish government committed massive abuse against civilians across southeast Turkey.  

“The alleged abuses include unlawful killings of civilians, mass forced civilian displacement, and widespread unlawful destruction of private property,” HRW reported.

Five months ago, in a detailed report, UK-based human rights group Amnesty International focused on the atrocities of the Turkish army against the Kurds in the country’s southeast.

“Research carried out by Amnesty International in areas under curfew and reports from residents in areas that are currently inaccessible to external observers, reveal the extreme hardships they are currently facing as a result of harsh and arbitrary measures,” Amnesty reported.

Editing by Ava Homa