Turkey imposes new curfew in Cizre: governor

More than 100 police and soldiers have been killed, along with hundreds of militants, in renewed conflict since a ceasefire collapsed in July, shattering a peace process launched in 2012.

The level of violence has risen between the Turkish government and the PKK since July, which many expect only to escalate ahead of elections in November.

The Turkish government said that up to 32 Kurdish militants were killed during the previous nine-day curfew in an “anti-terror” operation against suspected members of the PKK.

A curfew has been in place for the past week in the province of Cizre, where 21 civilians have been killed.

Mourners denounced President Recep Tayyip Erodgan as “a murderer”, before government forces reimposed a round-the-clock curfew on Cizre as they resumed their campaign to contain the spread of Kurdish militancy.

Turkey has seen protests against the militants’ attacks in recent weeks.

“Can a 35-day old child be a terrorist?” he said in Ankara, quoted by Turkish media.

The operation in Cizre, a city of 120,000 on the border with Syria and close to Iraq, was a key part of the government’s anti-PKK offensive as security forces continue to suffer losses in attacks.

The PKK, labeled as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, had begun withdrawing some of its forces in 2013 after a breakthrough in peace talks.

The pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) reported on its Twitter feed that gunshots and helicopters were heard in Diyarbakir on Sunday.

As a week long-curfew in the southeastern Turkish town of Cizre was lifted on Saturday, reports suggest that Turkish police forces in the area had been in a fight with a PKK-affiliate youth group called the YDG-H.

Three police were wounded and a young male civilian, named as Seyhmus Sanir, 22, who was working as a waiter in the cafe was killed, the security sources told AFP.

Officials say the move is necessary to enforce security and save lives while tracking down militants from the outlawed Kurdish PKK group. We now need the support of the worldwide public more than ever in order to achieve the realization of a lasting peace in the Middle East, Turkey and Kurdistan.

Erdogan, who repeatedly criticized the PKK of not fully disengaging its fighters, has said that the state cannot reach an agreement with anyone linked to a terrorist organization.