Police in Turkey clash with Kurds marking Nowruz in Silopi

Turkish police have attacked people during Nowruz festivities held by Kurds in the town of Silopi in defiance of a ban on mass gatherings amid Ankara’s crackdown on Kurdish militants.

On Saturday, police used water cannon to disperse the crowd, about 500 people in number, during the gathering held in the restive town located in the southeastern province of Sirnak.

The clashes broke out as residents of Silopi were marking Nowruz, the Persian New Year which is also celebrated by the Kurds. The event was organized by the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party, also known as the HDP.

Police reportedly attempted to convince the demonstrators to leave the vicinity of the municipality building, but a few of the Kurdish demonstrators began throwing stones at police lines.

Some 10 people were arrested during the skirmishes. The confrontation between the Kurds and police officers also led to the injury of a policeman.

Municipalities in several Turkish cities have announced any public gathering aimed at celebrating Newruz on March 20 unlawful as Ankara continues its military campaign in mainly Kurdish-populated areas.

Ahead of the festivities, the HDP slammed the ban and described it as “government’s continuation of war and pressure,” stressing that it would not abide by the ban.

“As we had planned earlier, the Nowruz celebrations will go ahead. Our people will turn out in the streets and squares to light the Nowruz torch for freedom and equality,” the HDP said in a statement.

Silopi has been the scene of fierce fighting between the Turkish military and militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) over the past months.

Ankara-Kurds row goes way back

Ankara has been engaged in a campaign against the PKK in Turkey’s Kurdish-majority southeastern region over the past few months. The Turkish military has also been conducting offensives against the positions of the group in northern Iraq.

The campaign began following a deadly July 2015 bombing in the southern Turkish town of Suruc. Over 30 people died in the attack, which the Turkish government blamed on the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.

After the bombing, the PKK militants, who accuse the government in Ankara of supporting Daesh, carried out a number of reprisal attacks against Turkish police and security forces.

The attacks against the PKK voided a shaky ceasefire declared in 2013 between the government and the militants, who have been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region inside Turkey since 1980s.

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