Thousands Protest Turkey’s Inaction Toward Extremists: 12 Dead

Local Editor

Thousands of pro-Kurdish protesters enraged by Turkey's inaction in the fight against extremists on the Syrian border clashed with Turkish police across the country on Tuesday, leaving at least a dozen dead and many wounded.

According to press reports, five people were killed in Diyarbakir, the largest town in Turkey's majority-Kurdish southeast region.

Several other deaths were recorded in other southeastern towns, including three killed in Mardin, two in Siirt, one in Batman and another in Mus, while police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse protests in Istanbul and Ankara.

Thousands of people had joined the demonstrations called by the main pro-Kurdish party, the People's Democratic Party [HDP].

Meanwhile, Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has vowed that his country will do whatever necessary to prevent the fall of Kobane, also known as Ain al-Arab.

However, Kurds accuse Ankara of merely looking on as the town risks being overrun by extremists.

Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala accused the pro-Kurdish protesters of "betraying their own country" and warned them to disperse or face "unpredictable" consequences.

"Violence will be met with violence... This irrational attitude should immediately be abandoned and [the protesters] should withdraw from the streets," Ala told reporters in Ankara.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team