- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

31 People Dead, 351 Injured During Riots in Turkey: Interior Minister

Subscribe
More than 1,000 protesters have been detained, 31 killed and 351 injured during riots in Turkey, which began as demonstrations in support of Syrian Kurds, who are defending the city of Kobani from the Islamic State (IS) militants, Turkish Interior Ministry Efkan Ala said Friday.

ANKARA, October 10 (RIA Novosti) - More than 1,000 protesters have been detained, 31 killed and 351 injured during riots in Turkey, which began as demonstrations in support of Syrian Kurds, who are defending the city of Kobani from the Islamic State (IS) militants, Turkish Interior Ministry Efkan Ala said Friday.

"According to the latest reports, 31 people have been killed in the riots and 351 injured, of which 139 are law enforcers. Some 1,024 people have been detained, 58 of them were arrested," the minister said at a press conference.

During the protests that took place in 35 provinces across the country, some 1,100 buildings were damaged, including schools, kindergartens, administrative buildings, and medical institutions. The rioters also torched 1,200 cars.

Efkan Ala said that the opposition parties, in particular, the Republican People's Party and the Kurdish People's Democratic Party, "instead of calming people down, have called for protests that are of no benefit to anyone." He added that there are forces trying to stop the process of the settlement of the Kurdish issue in Turkey.

The Turkish Interior Ministry said that the government and the country's security forces are doing everything they can to stabilize the situation as quickly as possible and minimize losses.

"According to reports, all the citizens who died in these riots are the victims of clashes between different groups of demonstrators, the police are not involved," Ala stressed.

The mass riots in the south-eastern provinces of Turkey have been taking place since Monday. The Kurdish population of Turkey is protesting against Ankara's policy of non-interference in the conflict in Syria.

For the past three weeks, the Islamic State militants have besieged Kobani (Ayn al-Arab), one of the largest towns in the Kurdish region bordering Turkey. The extremist group controls some 60 villages around the city.

More than 400 people have died in clashes between IS and Kurdish fighters in Kobani, according to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Some 200,000 refugees have crossed into Turkey to flee the IS threat.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала