Clashes in Turkey over Fate of Kobane Leave 31 Dead

People watching from Turkey as smoke rises from Kobane during clashes between Islamic State militants and Kurdish fighters trying to defend the town, near Suruc district, Turkey, 10 October 2014. Photo EPA/BGNES

Armed clashes in Turkey over the fate of the Kurdish town of Kobane in Syria assaulted by Islamic State jihadists have led to 31 deaths since Tuesday.

According to Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala, 351 people including police and gendarmerie officers were injured and more than 1,000 were being held in custody as of Friday.

The latest deaths occurred on Thursday evening when rival groups clashed in the southeastern province of Gaziantep, defying an army-imposed curfew.

At least 20 people were wounded when pro-Kurdish activists and their opponents attacked each other with pistols, rifles and axes. According to Turkish daily Hurriyet, the attack was allegedly initiated by far-right Turkish nationalists.

Two police officers were killed and a police chief was seriously wounded in an attack in the eastern Anatolian province of Bingol late on Thursday night. The attack came at a time of growing tensions in Turkey, with Kurds angry about what they perceive as the government’s indifference to the plight of Kurds in neighboring Syria, where Islamic State militants have laid siege to Kobane. 

Turkish troops and tanks have been deployed to restore order, and curfews were imposed in five provinces in Turkey’s east and southeast. Such measures  have not been seen since the 1990s when fighting between Kurdish militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the army rocked the region close to the border with Syria.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that he would not allow peace talks between the government  in Ankara and PKK to be derailed, blaming clashes in Turkey on “dark forces” provoking unrest.

“It’s very obvious that this game is aimed at sabotaging the peaceful environment in the east and southeast as well as the peace process and our brotherhood,” Erdogan said, referring to negotiations with PKK.

The Kurdish population in Turkey is also angry about how the government is handling border controls: the government says it is worried about letting in PKK supporters from Syria, while Kurdish fighters in Syria battling Islamic State militants blame Ankara for blocking crucial supplies of ammunition for their forces.

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