Events in Diyarbakir, which began last week during the funerals of PKK militants, continued over the weekend. Three were killed and one was severely injured when assailants hurled Molotov coctails at a municipality bus yesterday (April 2) in Bagcilar in Istanbul.
Ahmet Arac was killed on Saturday when security forces fired guns in the town of Kiziltepe in the southeastern province of Mardin. 21-year-old Mehmet Siddik Ozer was killed yesterday in Kiziltepe during clashes between the police and a group of protestors.
Police in Istanbul intervened in a group of 200 demonstrators, who gathered yesterday in Taksim, to protest the incidents taking place in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir.
The group, which dispersed after intervention, hurled stones and Molotov coctails to the police. Protesters also set on fire a truck and attempted to ignite a gas station. A number of police officers and protesters were injured during the incident. Bystanders attempted to lynch some of the protestors.
Shopkeepers in Yuksekova refused to open their shops on the weekend in a protest against the incidents in Diyarbakir. Some demonstrators clashed with police. Police and paramilitary police forces entered the city center on Saturday when shopkeepers refused to open their shops.
Police called on the shopkeepers to open up their shops. Troops walked down the high street shouting slogans like, "My land, I will die for you," and "Everything for my land."
A total of 565 people have been detained and 445 have been arrested in the incidents in Diyarbakir.
Molotov cocktail attack to the municipality bus
Three people died and one was injured when unidentified assailants hurled Molotov coctails at a municipality bus in Istanbul's Bagcilar district. The assailants set the bus on fire, which they had stopped on the Gazi Street in the Oruc Reis neighborhood in Bagcilar last night.
A group that gathered at the scene chanted anti-PKK slogans and protested the attack.
Clashes in Taksim
A demonstration in Taksim in Istanbul turned into clashes following police intervention. The group had gathered to protest the incidents taking place in Diyarbakir.
A group of about 200, which gathered in front of the Metro Station in Taksim, wanted to walk to the Gazi Park to make a press statement. Police, which took strict security measures, did not let the group to go to the park. Clashes broke out after police intervention.
Police used tear gas to disperse the group. As the members of the group dispersed to the back streets of Taksim and Tarlabasi, the clashes spread to those areas. The demonstrators hurled stone and Molotov coctails to police. Police took strict security measures, also getting support from helicopters and army forces.
A truck, belonging to a company that sells construction material in the Dolapdere region, was burned down with Molotov coctails.
Demonstration in front of IHD
Some bystanders attempted to lynch the demonstrators. While some police officers and demonstrators were injured, seven people were detained. A group of about 50 gathered in front of the Istanbul office of the Human Rights Association (IHD) and protested the police, which prevented them from making a press statement in Taksim. (KO/TK/EA/YE)
