Protesters ransack pro-Kurdish party local HQs after attacks
ISTANBUL: Nationalist protesters on Saturday stormed the local headquarters of the proKurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in the central Turkish city of Kayseri and several other Turkish cities after an attack that left 14 soldiers dead.
With the government pointing the finger at the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party ( PKK) for the attack earlier in Kayseri, the protesters took out their anger on the HDP in a string of revenge attacks.
In Kayseri, protesters broke into the building where the HDP office is located, scattering papers and furniture on the street and removing the HDP sign from the entrance, images taken by the Dogan news agency showed.
A group then ascended to the top of the building, setting off a fire and draping from the top a giant red flag with three crescent moons, the insignia of right-wing Nationalist Movement Party ( MHP).
The HDP said similar attacks also took place on its offices in seven districts in Istanbul as well as branches in the cities of Erzincan, Ankara and Canakkale, and the town of Darica east of Istanbul.
Pictures showed chaos in its offices in the Kartal district on the Asian side of Istanbul, with furniture and papers strewn on the floor. Meanwhile reports said there was an explosion at HDP offices in the Beylikduzu district of Istanbul, although there were no casualties.
In a statement, the HDP accused the authorities of turning a blind eye to the attacks. — AFP