Clashes erupt after 28 Kurdish mayors loose posts

12, 2016, he vowed to defeat terrorism in neighboring Syria.

“It is our primary duty to our people, to defeat ISIL in Syria and prevent it from staging attacks in Turkey”, Erdogan said. Last week Erdogan said that Turkey is conducting the largest operation in its history against Kurdish militants.

Ankara has been engaged in a large-scale anti-PKK campaign in its southern border region over the past few months.

The truce agreed between Russian Federation, which backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, and the United States, which backs some rebel factions, excludes some jihadist groups.

The attack took place near a police checkpoint outside the AKP offices in the heart of the bustling city, the local governor’s office said in a statement.

Turkey declared a state of emergency after the July 15 coup attempt, allowing the government to rule by decree.

A 10-day truce is set to start in Syria on Monday, according to an agreement announced early Saturday by the United States and Russian Federation.

This included the appointment of 24 new administrators in Kurdish-run municipalities on Sunday, after their elected mayors had been removed from office. About 200 people were dispersed by tear gas and water cannon outside the city hall in Suruc, the private Dogan news agency reported.

The leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Abdullah Ocalan, is “in good health” and has called for an end to the Kurdish conflict, his brother said Monday after visiting him in jail.

The mayors, who include 24 district mayors, two provincial mayors and two county mayors, majority from the eastern portion of the country, are being prosecuted on charges of assisting the two groups, the Interior Ministry said.

Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party, the country’s main opposition party and the United States all have criticised the move.

A truce, which was negotiated between the United States and Russia, is due to come into effect at sundown, Russian and US officials said.