LATEST: Authorities — Houses of Turkish Soldiers Targeted by PKK Youth in Southeast
Thousands of people marched on Saturday in Istanbual and in Turkey’s southeastern Diyarbakır Province in support of the besieged Syrian Kurdish center of Kobane.
The rallies were peaceful, in contrast to the violence that killed at least 38 people amid demonstrations last month.
Many protesters carried the picture of the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan, as they called on the Turkish Government to offer more support to Syrian Kurdish forces.
Despite the calm, the Government continued to warn against unrest. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said at an event of the ruling party AKP in western Turkey, that the State backed the right to hold meetings but would take “active measures” against those who chose violence.
Rallies were also held in European cities, including Brussels, Hamburg, London, Munich, and Paris.
The demonstrations were held as 150 Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga and heavy weapons crossed from Turkey into the area near Kobane, to assist in the defense against the Islamic State.
Authorities: Houses of Turkish Soldiers Targeted by PKK Youth in Southeast
Turkish authorities say the houses of 15 soldiers have been marked by PKK-affiliated fighters in Diyarbakir Province in the southeast, raising the fear of attacks.
The list of houses was reportedly obtained by members of the Patriotic Revolutionist Youth Movement (YDG-H) after building caretakers were coaxed into giving up the addresses of locally deployed Turkish soldiers.
