PKK releases abducted workers in southeastern Turkey

SİİRT – Doğan News Agency

Four construction workers who were abducted yesterday evening by militants of the outlawed Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) in the southeastern province of Siirt were released during the night, Doğan News Agency has reported.

The four workers were working in the construction site of a gendarmerie post near Belenoluk, a small village in Siirt’s Pervari district.
 
The current gendarmerie post in Belenoluk had been the target of an assault perpetrated by the PKK on Sept. 24 2011. Seven soldiers and three militants were killed during the clashes.
 
Militants also detonated explosives at the site, causing extensive damage to the building under construction, Doğan news agency reported.
 
They left the area with the abducted workers, escaping to the mountains, the report added.
 
The abduction occurred as the government is in the process of preparing a democratization package to revive the Kurdish peace process.
 
The Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) had previously expressed their opposition to the construction of the new gendarmerie post in the region.
 
Tension surrounding the issue peaked in June, when soldiers opened fire during demonstrations against the construction of a gendarmerie post in Diyarbakır’s Lice district. A 19-year-old protester, Medeni Yıldırım, was killed by gunshot wounds.