Turkey to lift curfew on city of Cizre on Saturday

Turkey on Friday said it would lift a week-long curfew in a southeastern city imposed to support a military operation against Kurdish rebels but which has also fuelled fears of a possible humanitarian crisis.

The curfew in Cizre, in place since September 4, will end on Saturday at 7:00 am (0400 GMT), said the statement from Sirnak region governor Ali Ihsan Su.

The operation against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants had sparked concern for Cizre's inhabitants, with reports of food running out, residents unable to seek urgent treatment and even burials impossible.

"During this time, our security forces carried out a successful operation against members of the Separatist Terror Organisation," the statement said, using the customary official term for the PKK.

"I want to sincerely thank the dear citizens of Cizre for their patience and sensitivity in this period," the governor's statement added.

During the curfew, outsiders had not been allowed to enter the city in what Kurdish activists termed a blockade.

The operation in Cizre, a city of 120,000 on the border with Syria and close to Iraq, was a key part of the government's drive to cripple the PKK in southeast Turkey and northern Iraq, which started in late July and shows no sign of abating.

In a massive new wave of strikes, Turkish warplanes struck 64 PKK targets in overnight raids on northern Iraq, dropping 80 bombs, state media said.

At least 60 PKK militants were killed in the strikes, carried out by 21 Turkish F-16 and F-4 warplanes. The toll could not be verified independently.

- 'Death sentence' -

The leader of Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party said earlier Friday the curfew in Cizre had turned into a "death sentence" for Kurds in the Kurdish-majority city.

"Normally, the fine when someone breaks a curfew is 100 Turkish lira ($33, 29 euros)," said Selahattin Demirtas, the co-chairman of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) ,who had been trying to visit the city in the last days.

"In Cizre, the fine is the death sentence and executions," Turkish media quoted him saying in the town of Idil west of Cizre.

Interior Minister Selami Altinok said Thursday that up to 32 PKK militants had been killed in Cizre, adding just one civilian had died in the clashes.

The HDP however contends that the civilian death toll is 21, including children.

"Those who venture out into the streets are killed by snipers. A violation that normally costs just 100 lira has become the price of death for the Kurds," Demirtas added.

Demirtas challenged the authorities to give names and prove that a single one of those killed were members of the PKK.

"We don't even know if there are armed militants there, we can't go inside," he added.

He said that Altinok and the governor of Sirnak province should be brought to justice.

"You can explain in court how you gave the order for the executions."

The Firat news agency, seen as close to the PKK, claimed that two youngsters aged 10 and 15 were shot dead overnight for breaking the curfew. There was no official confirmation of the report.

- 'Disproportionate restriction' -

Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Nils Muiznieks expressed alarm over the "very distressing information" from Cizre, urging that independent observers be allowed into the city.

He said the situation "combines an exceptionally severe interference with the human rights of a very large population and a near-complete information blackout".

Muiznieks said there are "serious allegations of disproportionate use of force".

Amnesty International said that the Turkish authorities must allow residents of the city to access basic needs, with reports indicating some residents have run out of drinking water and food.

"An indefinite, round-the-clock curfew is a disproportionate restriction, as is blocking all access to the city," it said in statement.

Demirtas suggested the curfew has simply encouraged more young people to go to the mountains and join the PKK.

"The special forces have done in nine days 30 years of propaganda for the PKK," it said.

Source: AFP