Turkish authorities reimpose curfew in Diyarbakir district after the killing of Kurdish lawyer

DIYARBAKIR (K24) - The sub-governorate of the Sur district in the Kurdish city of Diyarbakir announced on Wednesday that a curfew has been put in place in six neighbourhoods starting from 5 AM until further notice.

The announcement released on the Sur governorate website informed citizens that the curfew is in effect in the Cevatpasa, Fatihpasa, Dabanoglu, Hasırlı, Cemal Yılmaz and Savas neighbourhoods. The statement said the curfew aimed "to end the activities of the members of the separatist terror organisation and restore order for the protection of property and lives". The "separatist terror organisation" is used by Turkish authorities as a euphemism for the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

A K24 correspondent in Diyarbakir reported on Wednesday that sounds of clashes can be heard from the areas under curfew.

The historic Sur district is where the prominent human rights lawyer and head of Diyarbakir Bar Association Tahir Elci was killed in a street shootout between plainclothes Turkish police officers and PKK-affiliated armed youth last Saturday. Tahir Elci was in the area to issue a media statement regarding the damage received by the sixteenth-century landmark "Minareya Çarling" (the Four-legged Minaret Mosque) in clashes that took place during a curfew imposed earlier last week.

Moments before Elci was shot dead in the head he said, "We do not want guns, clashes, and operations here."

The Diyarbakir Bar Association was planning to hold a vigil in memory of Elci on Wednesday in the street its late head Tahir Elci was killed but the vigil has been cancelled due to the newly imposed curfew.

(Hesen Kako contributed to this report from Diyarbakir)