Southeastern university clashes spread to university in Ankara

ANKARA

Ankara police deployed at the ODTÜ campus also used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the students. AA photo

Students at Ankara’s Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) protested April 10 in response to heavy police intervention into ongoing clashes between student groups affiliated to the outlawed Islamist Hizbullah organization and another group that chanted pro-Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) slogans at Diyarbakır’s Dicle University.

Clashes heated up between police forces and students after a group read a statement condemning the intervention in Diyarbakır that included helicopters dropping tear gas. 

Ankara police deployed at the university campus also used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the students. Some students responded with fireworks while others tried to avoid the clashes by running into a forested section of the campus. The clashes reportedly lasted two-and-a-half hours.
 
ODTÜ, one of the most prestigious universities in Turkey, is also known for the political leaning of its student groups. The university was selected among the 50-60 best universities in the world in the “World Reputation Rankings,” a list compiled by Times Higher Education.
 
Three wounded in Diyarbakır
 
Meanwhile, three students were stabbed as clashes between students at Dicle University continued for a third straight day. The row started on April 8 when members of the Free Cause Party (Hüda-Par), which is connected to Hizbullah, were confronted by PKK supporters as they distributed brochures and statements on the birth of the Prophet Muhammad. The tension later increased following the intervention of Diyarbakır police.