Three soldiers wounded during clashes in southeastern Turkey

DİYARBAKIR

Kurdish protestors throw back the tear gas cannisters to gendarmerie on May 31. AFP Photo

Three soldiers were wounded on May 31 during clashes with a group of protesters who blocked the road between the southeastern province of Diyarbakır and Bingöl.

Gendarmerie forces cracked down on the demonstrators in the Lice district of Diyarbakır, where the tension has been high since last week’s clashes with security forces and some groups, Anadolu Agency reported.

A group attempted to block the road in the village of Abalı near Lice. Meanwhile, the demonstrators who raided a road construction site in the area tied the 12 workers inside their tents and hung illegal flags near the tents in an attempt to make the security forces raid the tents and attack the workers, Doğan news agency reported.

The demonstrators are alleged members of the Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement (YDG-H), a youth organization linked to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), raided the construction site. When the security forces intervened into the group, they threw hand-made explosives at the security forces.

In the meantime, the gendarmerie forces performing road checks discovered a hand-made explosive installed within the road of the village of Ergin near Lice.

The roads crossing Diyarbakır and Lice, Lice and Bingöl, Kulp and Muş have been blocked for eight days by the demonstrators. Truck drivers are using the route to Hani to get to Lice under security of the soldiers.