PKK militants force curfew

ANKARA: Turkish authorities declared an open-ended curfew in the southeastern town of Varto yesterday, the first such restriction since clashes with autonomyseeking Kurdish militants flared last month.

The curfew was imposed at 8.30am after the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, destroyed a bridge at the town’s entrance late on Saturday.

The militant group has expanded its fight from rugged mountains to towns and cities in the southeast, and more than 150 people, including 13 civilians, have died in clashes since early July.

“The PKK terrorist organisation has planted several mines and booby traps in the centre of town of Varto since Aug 15,” the governor’s office in the provincial centre of Mus said in a statement on its website.

“A curfew has been declared in Varto until further notice to allow us to defuse these explosives and safeguard our people and property.”

The date has resonance as the 31st anniversary of the group’s first armed assault.

Tensions between the government and minority Kurds escalated after the pro-Kurdish HDP party won seats in parliament for the first time, stripping the ruling AK Party of its majority to govern alone.

Turkey is now headed to a second general election within six months after coalition talks collapsed last week.

The government accused HDP of ties to the PKK and ordered air strikes against militant hideouts in Turkey and neighbouring Iraq in response to attacks on soldiers and policemen.