Police clash with protesters demanding release of jailed PKK leader

ANKARA

A police vehicle caught fire in the town of Silopi, while a demonstrator was hurt by a fire bomb in Şırnak. DHA Photo

Kurdish demonstrators clashed with the police Feb. 15 in several towns in southeastern Turkey during protests marking the 15th anniversary of the capture of Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Riot police fired tear gas and used water cannons to disperse the protesters, some of whom responded by hurling stones, fireworks and fire bombs.

A police vehicle caught fire in the town of Silopi, while a demonstrator was hurt by a fire bomb in Şırnak.

Another demonstration also took place in the French city of Strasbourg.

The demonstrators were protesting Öcalan’s continued imprisonment. Öcalan was captured in Kenya in 1999 and returned to Turkey, where he is serving a life term in prison.