Citizens of Diyarbakır pour onto the street to protest the state’s continued siege in the historical Sur district as regime forces open fire on crowds, killing at least two people

Police forces shot dead two people in Diyarbakır on Dec. 14 as locals gathered to protest the Turkish state’s continued curfew in the southeastern city’s historical Sur district.

Şiyar Salman, 18, and Şerdil Cengiz, 21, were killed in the attacks on Dec. 14 by special forces in the Kaynartepe neighborhood of Bağlar district after the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) called for a halt to life in Diyarbakır to protest the 13th day of a siege by the Turkish state on Sur, which is home to the world’s second longest walls, as well as a number of major historical sites.

Two other youths, who were identified as Engin Kayar and Şaban Parlamış, were also injured in the attack that killed Salman and Cengiz.

Although the Diyarbakır Governor’s Office declared the HDP’s march to be “illegal” earlier in the day, unions, shopkeepers and ordinary citizens refused to heed the state’s demands for people to “disregard” the call, rallying to march toward Sur in an effort to break the curfew.

Citizens soon broke down police barricades, prompting attacks by state forces with tear gas, water cannon and plastic bullets. As clashes between residents and Turkish regime forces spread to side streets, special forces teams were accused of firing live ammunition in the city’s upmarket Ofis neighborhood.

A number of historical buildings and houses reportedly caught fire in Sur amid the battle with the Turkish forces.

A large number of people were also detained by police, according to reports.

Clashes were reported in the areas of Şehitlik, Koşuyolu, Huzurevler, Diclekent, Bağlar, Hatboyu and Emek, as well as in the vicinity of the Diyarbakır E-Type Prison.

The spreading of the clashes to areas around the city prompted the state to deploy more soldiers to the city, according to the Fırat News Agency.

The attacks by security forces are the latest in the new war concept that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has implemented since it saw support fall following the June 7 elections, with the state killing dozens of citizens in heavy-handed operations in a number of southeastern towns. The curfew in Sur came after police allegedly killed the head of the Diyarbakır Bar Association, Tahir Elçi, after he said the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) was not a terrorist organization.

Despite repeated sieges in areas such as Diyarbakır and Cizre, regime forces have so far failed to break popular resistance that is being led by local youth in the Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement (YDG-H), who have erected barricades and dug trenches to prevent possible massacres by government forces after locals declared self-administration in several areas.

During the current siege against Sur – which was lifted briefly last week before being reimposed – state forces used helicopters to fire on and destroy the 500-year-old Kuşunlu Mosque in addition to killing several civilians.

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