12-day curfew in Turkey’s Silvan ends, governor reveals death toll

DİYARBAKIR – Doğan News Agency

Tanks around the clash zone in Silvan leave the town. DHA photo

A 12-day curfew in the three neighborhoods of the Silvan town in the southeastern Turkish province of Diyarbakır was lifted as of 2 p.m. on Nov. 14, with the tanks placed around the city by the military also withdrawing. 

Soldiers participating in the operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) for the past 12 days also left the town. 

The Diyarbakır governor’s office had declared a curfew in the Tekel, Mescit and Konak neighborhoods on Nov. 3 before an operation was launched to lift the barricades erected by the PKK militants, re-fill the ditches dug by them and capture militants. 

The office said Nov. 14 that one gendarmerie lieutenant and two policemen were killed in attacks as one injured soldier and one policeman were still under medical treatment. 

Two citizens died in the clashed as two injured people were in still hospital, the governor’s office confirmed. 

It said an estimated 10 PKK members were killed. 

A sum of 22 people were detained before 20 were released and one was arrested, as one remained in detention, read the statement. 

Guns, explosives and armament were seized during operations, it said. 

A group that gathered in front of the Silvan Municipality building protested the withdrawing soldiers. However, another group from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) walked with soldiers to ease the tensions. 

Thousands of residents sought to flee Silvan before the lifting of the curfew. Many houses and stores were damaged during the clashes. 

Seperate non-official reports had put the death toll higher.