Clashes between Kurdish supporters of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, and Turkish security forces caused the death of fourteen Kurds over the weekend, reports the Arabic-language news portal Elaph.
Security sources in Diyarbakir, the largest city in the overwhelmingly Kurdish southeastern Turkey, announced the fourteen died during army activity in the region.
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Earlier in the week, more than 75,000 Kurds celebrated the spring festival in Diyarbakir. During the festival many in the crowd shouted their support for the PKK. It was reported by AP that during the festival at least eight people were injured, including several policemen. During the rally, demonstrators shouted slogans in praise of the imprisoned Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan and the PKK.
Since the beginning of the Kurdish fight against the Turkish authorities in 1984, at least 37,000 people have died. The United States, the European Union, and Turkey itself, consider the PKK a terrorist organization. Following the arrest of Ocalan in 1999, PKK decided to unilaterally halt its activities. However, in June 2004 the party renewed its fight against the Turkish government.
Approximately 70 million people live in Turkey; 20 percent of them Kurds.