Curfew, Operation in Siirt

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The Governorship of Siirt has announced that after a curfew has been declared in 11 villages and neighborhoods in Turkey's southeastern province of Siirt, an operation has been launched in the region.

In Siirt, curfew has been declared seven times before.

In the announcement published on the official website of the Governorship yesterday (October 3), it was stated that as part of the operation launched by the Siirt Provincial Gendarmerie Commandership and Siirt Center and Tillo District Gendarmerie Commanderships, a curfew was declared as of 5 p.m. yesterday in the following villages and neighborhoods:

In the district of Tillo, Çınarlısu Village, Alkumru Neighborhood, Elmacık Neighborhood, Hantrat Village, Akyayla Village, Kargacık Neighborhood, Taşbalta Village and Erenler Neighborhood; and in the city center, the villages of Koçlu, Bayraktepe (Çölköy) and Ekmekçiler.

The governorship released another statement, announcing that the operation has been continuing and three members of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) have been killed.

The governorship did not announce the ending date of the curfew.

332 curfews in three years

The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV) Documentation Center has determined that curfew was declared for at least 332 times in 11 provinces and at least 50 districts from August 16, 2015 to October 1, 2018.

According to the report, at least 1 million 809 thousand people have been affected due to these curfews.

About Siirt Siirt, a province in the southeast of Turkey, is located in an area where the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Anatolia intersect. Being a mountain region, the province consists of high mountains and plateaus. The population of Siirt is 324 thousand 394. Co-Mayor of the city Belkıza Beştaş Epözdemir was arrested in May 2016 and Co-Mayor Tuncer Bakırhan was arrested in November 2016. Ceyhun Dilşad Taşkın, who was previously the Vice Governor of Siirt, has been appointed as the Vice Mayor of the city.

(AS/SD)