Protesters in western Turkey hit the streets to protest against the Turkish government’s latest massacre in Cizre. Dozens were detained in Istanbul and İzmir, while train services in Mersin and Adana were canceled due to clashes

 

Turkish police have attacked demonstrators in Istanbul, İzmir, Mersin and Adana amid rallies to protest against a massacre by government forces in the southeastern district of Cizre.

Some 30 people were detained in Istanbul’s Galatasaray Square, while another 40 were detained in İzmir.

Police in the southern province of Mersin’s Tarsus district, however, fired live rounds at residents of the Fahrettin Paşa neighborhood after they were unable to enter the area due to resistance by locals. Further west in the province, police again fired with real bullets at residents of Demirtaş neighborhood in the Toroslar district after failing to enter the area.

The battles between police and residents caused the cancelation of inter-provincial train services in the Çukurova region.

Police also used tear gas and live bullets in attempting to subdue protests in the Şakir Paşa and Küçük Dikili neighborhoods of Adana’s Seyhan district.

The violence follows reports of the killing of at least 30 people in Cizre’s Cudi neighborhood almost two months after the Turkish government imposed a siege on the southeastern town in an attempt to remove barricades erected by locals to protect themselves against abuses by security forces. According to reports, around 30 people were burnt to death with a chemical agent at the address in Cizre.

Because of the continuing siege, however, it has been impossible to verify the exact number of dead, as well as the circumstances surrounding the incident.

In Istanbul, police attacked protesters with water cannon, tear gas and plastic bullets after claiming that the demonstrators’ slogan, “The murderous state will pay,” was illegal.

In İzmir, police also attacked protesters on similar grounds, briefly detaining Dicle News Agency (DİHA) Selman Çiçek and Serfiraz Gezgin after refusing to permit them to record the incidents.

Protesters also gathered in Ankara, declaring that the reactionary forces that massacred Alevis in 1993 in the Central Anatolian province of Sivas were now engaging in similar behavior in Cizre. Crowds later engaged in a sit-down protest against the massacre in Cizre.

Elsewhere, large numbers of people in Diyarbakır joined a daily noise protest at 19.00 to demonstrate against the killings, as well as the two-month-old siege of the southeastern province’s historical Sur district.

There were also solidarity protests in Hakkari and Manisa.

Sendika.Org, DİHA