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DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Sept 18 (AFP) - 21h16 - Two
policemen and two Kurdish rebels were killed in
predominantly Kurdish southeastern Turkey, the
latest incident in mounting unrest in the region,
local officials said Sunday.
One of the policemen was killed when two suspected
militants from the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
opened fire on a police station in Van city, also
leaving three officers injured, local security chief
Cemil Zafer told Anatolia news agency.
In a separate incident, a policeman was killed and
another injured in the city of Sanliurfa when
unidentified assailants opened fire on a police
vehicle on patrol in the city.
Sanliurfa police chief Kutluay Celik told Anatolia
that the authorities were still investigating the
incident, but added that it "does not seem to be a
terrorist attack" according to initial assessments.
Meanwhile, a PKK militant was killed when a group of
rebels clashed with the army in the mountainous
province of Tunceli, the local governor's office
said, adding that the security operation in the area
was continuing.
A second rebel was shot dead in Van province, close
to the border with Iran, Anatolia reported.
Suspected PKK guerrillas also attacked a gendarme
station in Erzincan province, leaving two soldiers
injured, the agency said.
The PKK, considered a terrorist organization by
Ankara as well as the United States and the European
Union, has waged a bloody separatist campaign in
Turkey's eastern and southeastern provinces since
1984, with the conflict claiming some 37,000 lives.
Unrest in the region has markedly escalated over the
past several months after the PKK called off a
five-year unilateral ceasefire in June 2004.
Last month, the group declared a one-month truce
until September 20, but the army brushed aside the
move and clashes in the region continue.
AFP
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