PKK members ‘throw smoke bomb’ at Turkish Culture Ministry office in Rome

ISTANBUL

Some of the protesters hurled red paint at the building and wrote 'murderers' on its walls during the demonstration in Rome. DHA Photo

Members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) have staged an attack with smoke bombs on the Turkish Culture Ministry attaché’s office in Rome, Culture Minister Ömer Çelik stated via his Twitter account on Oct. 16.

“A group of 20 PKK members attacked the Culture Ministry office during a demonstration in front of the building. They threw smoke bombs at our office. We condemn this attack,” Çelik said. Some of the protesters hurled red paint at the building and wrote “murderers” on its walls.

The attack comes amid unprecedented tension in southeastern Turkey, particularly since the start of the Kurdish peace process in 2013. Some 37 protesters have died in clashes following widespread demonstrations across the country against the advance of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobane.

The Turkish government has been criticized for its perceived lack of action against ISIL, particularly by the Kurdish-leftist bloc the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).

Pro-Kobane demonstrations have also been held across Europe, but no other Turkish foreign mission has been targeted.