Several detained in protests against Türkiye's airstrikes in northern Syria, Iraqi Kurdistan

Photo: Yeni Yaşam

The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) organized demonstrations in several cities in protest of Türkiye's airstrikes in Syria's north and Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Mezopotamya Agency (MA) reported.

In the early hours of yesterday (November 20), about 70 aircraft, including warplanes and drones, struck some 89 targets belonging to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Iraq and the People's Protection Units (YPG) in Syria, according to the government.

The strikes were in retaliation for the deadly bomb attack in İstanbul on November 13, the government said. Both the PKK and the YPG denied involvement in the attack.

Dozens were killed in the airstrikes, including YPG fighters, as well as military personnel of Syria and a journalist for the Syria-based Hawar News Agency (ANHA), according to statements.

HDP provincial organizations held demonstrations in the Kurdish-majority provinces of Diyarbakır, Van, Dersim and Hakkari, as well as the southern cities of Adana and Hatay.

Detentions in Diyarbakır

Members of the Democratic Society Congress, the Free Women's Movement (TJA), and the Democratic Regions Party (DBP) also attended the demonstration in Diyarbakır's Dağkapı Square.

The police did not allow the protesters to read out a statement and detained several people. An elderly man drinking tea was also among the detained, MA reported.

The demonstration in Diyarbakır:

In Edremit, Van, the police dispersed the crowd gathered outside of the HDP's district office. Surrounding the building, police detained Şakir Bedir, a reporter for the pro-Kurdish Yeni Yaşam newspaper.

The police also prevented the demonstration outside of the HDP's Çukurova district office in Adana, forcing the crowd into the building.

Ten people, including the HDP's provincial co-chairs in Adana, were injured during the police response. Co-Chair Mehmet Karakış said, "As citizens of this country, we don't want Türkiye to go to war in another country."

Officers also battered Volkan Pekal, a reporter for the daily Evrensel.

Police also battered the demonstrators in Dersim, and detained a shopkeeper named İsmail Anıl Salan, who tried to help those who fell on the ground during the police response. He was later released.

Hakkari. (Photo: MA)

In Hakkari Yüksekova (Gever) district, police surrounded the HDP's district office and blocked a street leading to the town center. Officers did not allow the HDP members to read out a statement. Citizens protested the police from their balconies.

Meanwhile, governors of Van, Bingöl and Elazığ issued demonstration bans to ensure "national security" and "public peace." The ban will last nine days in Van and 15 days in the other two cities. (VK)