One police officer killed, one wounded in Turkey’s southeast

ŞIRNAK - Doğan News Agency

DHA Photo

One police officer has been killed and another has been wounded in clashes between the youth wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and security forces filling in ditches in Turkey’s southeastern province of Şırnak. 

Clashes erupted in Şırnak’s central Yeni Mahalle district when the outlawed Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement (YDG-H), the PKK’s youth branch, opened fire at police forces as they worked to fill in ditches dug to prevent security forces from entering the neighborhood. 

The police started working early on Oct. 16, after surrounding the district with armored vehicles and stationing snipers in strategic locations. 

While armored earth diggers worked to fill in the ditches, explosives placed around the ditches were detonated by the police. 

YDG-H militants opened fire at the officers while the efforts continued, killing one police officer and wounding another. 

The wounded officer was transferred to a hospital, while additional forces were dispatched to the area to assist the operation. 

The governor of Şırnak released a written statement confirming the reports. 

“One of our police officers has been martyred while another of our officers has been wounded as members of the separatist terror organization opened fire,” the statement said. The term “separatist terror organization” is frequently used by the government to refer to the PKK or its affiliates, in this case the YDG-H.

Meanwhile, Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) deputies Aycan İrmez, Leyla Birlik and Ferhat Encü arrived at Yeni Mahalle to help authorities stop the clashes but were not permitted to enter the neighborhood. 

Cizre Avenue in the district remains closed to traffic due to the operation.