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DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (AFP)
- Thirteen people were injured Sunday when police
clashed with protestors at a funeral in southeastern
Turkey for two Kurdish rebels killed in a shootout
with security forces, local sources said.
A row erupted when the crowd attending the funeral
in the city of Siirt refused to bury the dead in
graves designated by local authorities and insisted
on burying them elsewhere.
When police refused, the crowd began pelting
officers with stones and sticks while police used
truncheons and tear gas against the protestors.
Some officers were seen firing shots into the air.
Three protestors and 10 police officers were injured
in the scuffles.
It was not immediately clear if anyone was detained.
Some 37,000 people have been killed in the conflict
between the military and rebels from the outlawed
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) who picked up arms
against Ankara in 1984 for self-rule in Turkey's
mainly Kurdish southeast.
The group, now known as KONGRA-GEL, announced a
ceasefire in 1999 following the capture of its
leader Abdullah Ocalan, but it called off the truce
in June last year, warning tourists and investors to
stay away from the country.
Sporadic fighting has since resumed in the region,
but with far less intensity than before.
AFP All rights reserved
2005
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