Sergeant, villager, 6 PKK members killed in clashes

HAKKARİ - Doğan News Agency

Tension rises between security officials and a group of 100 people, who say they are concerned about the life of their relatives in Kazan village. AA photo

One sergeant was killed in clashes between Turkish military forces and militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the Çukurca district of the eastern province of Hakkari, while one village woman has lost her life in the clashes.

The clashes in the Kazan valley, which is 20 kilometers from Çukurca, are ongoing. Special Forces from the Gendarmerie Special Operations and the Kayseri and Bolu Comando Troops also participated in the clashes. Four soldiers were injured in the clashes and six PKK militants were killed. The name of the killed sergeant was identified as Aykut Köroğlu.

Two female villagers were also injured during the clashes. One of them, Aziza Çetin, was reportedly wounded by the shrapnel from bombs thrown from helicopters. She was later reported to have died in hospital. The other injured, Keziba Çetinkaya, was said to have been sent to Hakkari city center for treatment.

Police and gendarme took security measures before the local clinic in Çukurca and the local stores were shut down as part of the security measures.

Early in the day, two war airplanes were seen to fly to the border passing through Çukurca. Due to the ongoing operations, entrance to and exit from the Kazan valley is currently forbidden.
State officials have yet to make an official announcement about the clashes.

Prosecutor launches probe against BDP

An investigation on charges of creating propaganda for a terrorist organization was launched yesterday against the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) by the office of the chief provincial prosecutor in Ankara, Anatolia news agency has reported.

Prosecutor Kemal Çetin opened the investigation under charges of “creating propaganda for a terrorist organization.” As justification for the probe the prosecutors’ office cited slogans shouted in favor of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the presence of posters and banners with the picture of the imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan on them at the Oct. 14 BDP convention.

A separate investigation has been launched against those who held the posters of Öcalan as well as against members of the convention’s organizing committee, Anatolia news agency said. No further information about these investigations has been released.

During the BDP’s extraordinary convention in Ankara on Oct. 14 a large poster of the convicted leader of the PKK was hung on a wall in the congress hall, in an unprecedented move. In previous congresses some BDP members carried small, individual posters in support of Öcalan, but this was the first time the BDP has ever appeared to hang a poster of Öcalan alongside its party logo.