Rights body urges Turkey to allow observers into Cizre

A major human rights body in Europe has called on the Turkish government to allow independent observers into a mainly-Kurdish town where the government has launched a heavy-handed crackdown.

Nils Muiznieks, the human rights commissioner for the Council of Europe, said Friday that the government in Ankara should allow access to the town, where a a curfew has been in place since September 4.

The EU rights official said the council is concerned about reports showing “disproportionate use of force” against civilians in Cizre.

Turkey says the curfew in Cizre is needed for the security forces to battle suspected Kurdish militants. Turkish Interior Minister Selami Altinok said Friday that at least seven militants and one civilian were killed during fighting in the town in the past few days. However, other sources put the death toll of the clashes at 21 civilians.

Turkish officials have also denied the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) a visit to Cizre, saying the ban was issued out of concerns for the safety of the HDP delegation.

Pro-Kurdish politicians, including cabinet ministers, attempted to march to Cizre on Thursday to protest the curfew there.

Death punishment

Selahattin Demirtas, the co-chairman of the HDP, said Friday that the eight-day curfew in Cizre had turned into a “death sentence” for Kurds as reports are emerging of renewed clashes in the town.

"Normally, the fine when someone breaks a curfew is 100 Turkish Lira ($33)... In Cizre, the fine is the death sentence and executions," Demirtas said, adding, "Those who venture out into the streets are killed by snipers."

He also challenged the official account stating that those killed were militants, urging the interior ministry to give names.

For more than a month, Turkey has been in the midst of a deadly battle with the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or the PKK, with hundreds, including many members of security forces, killed in clashes and attacks in the southeast of the country. Ankara has launched a military campaign against the PKK in northern Iraq.

60 PKK militants killed in Iraq

According to the official Anadolou agency on Friday, overnight raids by Turkey against positions of PKK in Iraq killed at least 60 militants.

The report quoted security sources as saying that 64 targets were hit in attacks that were carried out by 21 Turkish F-16 and F-4 warplanes and lasted from late Thursday to dawn Friday.

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