Thousands of pro-Kurdish demonstrators incensed by Turkey’s inaction in the fight against ISIL militants on the Syrian border clashed with police across the country on Tuesday, killing at least 14 and wounding many others.
-
-
Thousands of people had joined the demonstrations called by the main pro-Kurdish party, the People’s Democratic Party (HDP), against Ankara’s failure so far to intervene militarily against ISIL militants fighting for the Syrian border town of Kobani. Sertac Kayar / EPA -
Police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse protesters. Emrah Gurel / AP Photo -
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has vowed that Turkey will do whatever necessary to prevent the fall of Kobani, also known as Ain Al Arab. Emrah Gurel/ AP Photo -
But Kurds bitterly accuse Ankara of merely looking on as the town risks being overrun by the extremists despite dozens of Turkish tanks being deployed on the border. Ozan Kose / AFP Photo -
Turkey’s interior minister Efkan Alahas accused the pro-Kurdish protesters of ‘betraying their own country’ and warned them to disperse or face ‘unpredictable’ consequences. Ilyas Akengin / AFP Photo -
Enraged youths in the southeastern town of Diyarbakir torched a police vehicle, scores of other vehicles and shops overnight, attacking government offices. Sertac Kayar / EPA -
Local authorities ordered a curfew in several Kurdish-majority provinces including Diyarbakir, Mardin, Siirt and Van. Emrah Gurel / AP Photo -
Kurds have been particularly irked by the reluctance of Turkish authorities, who are concerned by Kurdish separatism, to allow Kurds over the border to fight ISIL. Sertac Kayar / EPA
Protests in Turkey turn deadly — in pictures
Most popular today
