LATEST: “Martial Law” in Tunceli Province in Southeast Because of Kurdish PKK Cemetery
Chemical and biological experts have been despatched to five Western consulates in Istanbul in Turkey, following the delivery of suspicious envelopes containing an unidentifiable yellow powder on Friday.
Results of tests are due on Monday. As a safety precaution, 25 people — 19 people from the Canadian Consulate, including the Consul-General; 4 from the German Consulate; and 2 from the Belgian Consulate — were hospitalized after one Canadian employee was directly exposed to the powder.
The consulates continue to operate at full capacity.
“Martial Law” in Tunceli Province in Southeast Because of Kurdish PKK Cemetery
The Governor’s office in Tunceli Province has blocked all entry to the area because of the reported establishment of a cemetery for fighters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants who have been killed in recent years.
The closure of all roads by locally-deployed soldiers and polic, has been criticized by both the pro-Kurdish Democratic Region’s Party (DBP) and the People’s Democratic Party (HDP).
Tunceli’s co-Mayor Mehmed Ali Bul described the imposition of martial law as “a return to the 1990s”, when the Turkish government launched a widespread crackdown against the Kurdish population in southeastern Turkey.
3 Soldiers Killed by Gunmen in Eastern Province
Three Turkish soldiers were killed by masked gunmen on Saturday afternoon in the Yuksekova District of eastern Hakkari Province.
Police have launched an initial investigation into the incident.
Deputy Prime Minister Yalcin Akdogan said on Thursday that the Kurdish PKK is behind the recent wave of attacks against Turkish security forces.
