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DAMASCUS, June 5 (AFP) - 22h16 - Several Kurds
were wounded Sunday in the Syrian town of Qamishli
in clashes with security forces as they protested to
demand an inquiry into the killing of a Kurdish
cleric, Kurdish officials said.
"The clashes took place in the east of the city
between security forces and demonstrators who wanted
to join in with the other demonstrators," said Aziz
Daud, head of the Democratic Progressive Kurdish
Party.
Three demonstrators were wounded by gunshots while
others, including women were hurt after being hit by
members of the security forces, who shot in the air
to disperse the demonstrators, he told AFP by
telephone.
"At the end of the clashes, fifty shops belonging to
Kurds were gutted and pillaged by Baathist militias
or their sympathisers," he added.
The secretary general of the Kurdish Yakiti party,
Hassan Saleh, told AFP that young Kurdish
demonstrators had been wounded and spoke of dozens
of arrests.
The death of popular Islamic leader Mohammed Maashuq
Khaznawi, was announced Wednesday by a Kurdish
political leader, following the cleric's
disappearance on May 10.
The Syrian government announced it had arrested two
of a five-member "criminal gang" charged with
kidnapping Khaznawi, but Kurdish officials and
Khaznawi's family remained sceptical and have called
for a complete investigation.
The demonstrators wanted to march through Qamishli,
the northeast Syrian town 680 kilometres (420 miles)
from Damascus where the cleric was born, but were
prevented by Syrian security forces, said Daud.
He said the demonstrators were able to walk 500
metres (540 yards) before they were dispersed.
The demonstrators called for the formation of "an
impartial commission composed primarily of Kurdish
lawyers."
The 46-year-old Kurdish cleric was vice-president of
the Centre for Islamic Studies in Damascus and was
held in high regard by Kurds and Syrians alike.
He was a staunch defender of Kurdish rights in Syria
and harshly criticised the Syrian state.
Shortly before he disappeared, Khaznawi took a trip
to Europe where he met with Kurdish officials as
well as Ali Sadreddine al-Bayanuni, the head of the
Muslim Brotherhood. The Islamist group is banned in
Syria.
The Kurdish population in Syria is estimated at 1.5
million, about nine percent of the population.
Some 200,000 Kurds have been denied Syrian
citizenship, which makes it difficult for them to
find work in the socialist, government-controlled
economy.
In March 2004, several days of violent clashes
pitted Kurds against Arabs and Syrian security
forces. Kurds claimed 40 were killed, Syrian sources
said
AFP
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