Turkish police walk in front of the Metropolitan Municipality headquarters in Diyarbakir, Turkey, August 19, 2019. REUTERS/Murad Sezer

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish police have detained 418 people in 29 provinces in an investigation targeting suspects with links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group, the Interior Ministry said on Monday.

The ministry announcement, made on Twitter, followed its earlier announcement that the mayors of three major southeastern cities had been replaced by state officials in terrorism-related investigations. </s> Turkish police have detained 418 people in 29 provinces in an investigation targeting suspects with links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group, the Interior Ministry said on Monday.

The ministry announcement on Twitter followed its earlier statement that the mayors of three major southeastern cities had been replaced by state officials in terrorism-related investigations.

The pro-Kurdish party mayors of Diyarbakir, Van and Mardin were replaced on Monday, and state governors were appointed in their place.

The mayors were accused of various crimes including membership of a terrorist organization and spreading terrorist group propaganda, Reuters said. </s> DIYARBAKIR: Turkey replaced pro-Kurdish party mayors with state officials in three southeastern cities and detained more than 400 people for suspected militant links on Monday, the Interior Ministry said, in a move likely to fuel tensions in Turkey’s southeast.

Ahead of nationwide local elections in March, President Tayyip Erdogan had warned of such a move against elected officials if they were found to have connections to the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

The mayors in Diyarbakir, Mardin and Van, major cities in the mainly Kurdish southeast, were accused of various crimes including membership of a terrorist organisation and spreading terrorist group propaganda, the ministry statement said.

“For the health of the investigations, they have been temporarily removed from their posts as a precaution,” it said, referring to Diyarbakir Mayor Selcuk Mizrakli, Mardin Mayor Ahmet Turk and Van Mayor Bedia Ozgokce Ertan.

CNN Turk showed police sealing off the municipality headquarters in Diyarbakir with metal barriers, with water cannon vehicles and riot police deployed outside.

The Interior Ministry said on Twitter that police detained 418 people in 29 provinces in an investigation targeting suspects with links to the PKK militant group.

The removal of the mayors echoed the dismissal of dozens of mayors in 2016 over similar accusations, part of a purge that began after a failed coup. Nearly 100 mayors and thousands of party members were jailed in a crackdown that drew expressions of concern from the United States and European Union.

Ahead of the March election Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said 178 current election candidates were being investigated over alleged PKK links.

Erdogan at the time warned that pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) mayors could again be dismissed if they, like their predecessors, are deemed to have ties to militants.

Erdogan frequently accuses the HDP of links to the PKK, which is designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the European Union and United States. The HDP denies such links.

The PKK launched an insurgency in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict. </s> ANKARA, Aug. 19 (Xinhua/GNA) - Turkey's Interior Ministry on Monday dismissed three mayors of the opposition People's Democratic Party (HDP) in eastern and southeastern Turkey over alleged terror links.

Turkish police have also detained 418 people in 29 provinces in an investigation targeting suspects with links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), said the ministry.

The mayors of Diyarbakir, Mardin and Van provinces, namely Adnan Selcuk Mizrakli, Ahmet Turk and Bedia Ozgokce Ertan, have been suspended, a statement from the ministry said.

The mayors have been replaced by state-appointed governors.

The police have been carrying out an operation in the municipalities, local media reported.

The Turkish government accuses the opposition HDP of having links to the PKK, a group that was listed as a terrorist organization by Turkish government, the United States and the EU.

The ministry said the PKK exerted heavy efforts to nominate candidates "who would be easily led once they would be elected and would be under its guidance and orientation."

These mayors were elected on March 31 in local elections.

"Once the Metropolitan Mayors of Diyarbakir, Mardin and Van Provinces had taken their offices, it was highlighted that they exerted the so-called 'co-mayor' practice upon the instructions of the leaders of the separatist terrorist organization," said the ministry.

The mayors "intended to convert the municipalities into an administrative structure separate from the whole country, they de facto employed the former municipal employees, who had been removed from their offices due to their engagement, affiliation and relation with the terrorist organization," said the statement.

Concerning the ongoing separate investigations and prosecutions on these mayors over alleged terror links, the ministry said that they have been suspended from their duties as an interim precaution for safety and security concerns.

The move is part of the efforts by the Turkish government, which has recently intensified its fight against the PKK in the military level both in Turkey and in northern Iraq. </s> DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Reuters) - Turkey on Monday replaced Kurdish mayors with state officials in three cities and detained more than 400 people for suspected militant links, the Interior Ministry said, a move likely to fuel tensions in the mainly Kurdish southeast.

The ministry also said it had launched an operation with some 2,300 commandos against militant fighters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in southeastern provinces.

The mayors of three major southeastern cities - Diyarbakir, Mardin and Van - are accused of various crimes including membership of a terrorist organization and spreading terrorist group propaganda, the ministry said in a statement.

Riot police fired water cannon on small groups of people protesting against the mayors’ dismissal in central Diyarbakir, where police sealed off the municipality headquarters with metal barriers, Reuters TV video showed.

President Tayyip Erdogan had warned ahead of local elections in March of such a move against elected officials if they were found to have had connections to the PKK.

“For the health of the investigations, they have been temporarily removed from their posts as a precaution,” the ministry said, referring to Diyarbakir Mayor Selcuk Mizrakli, Mardin Mayor Ahmet Turk and Van Mayor Bedia Ozgokce Ertan.

Police detained 418 people in 29 provinces in a related investigation targeting suspects with links to the PKK, the ministry added.

The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), to which the three mayors belong, said they had been dismissed “on an order based on lies and illegal justifications”.

“This is a new and clear political coup. It is a clear and hostile stance against the political will of the Kurdish people,” the HDP executive board said in a written statement.

It said the three mayors had been elected with between 53% to 63% of the vote in their cities in March and called for support from other political parties.

“This is not just the problem of the HDP and the Kurdish people. It is the shared problem of all Turkey’s peoples and all democratic forces,” it added.

Veli Agbaba, deputy leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), wrote on Twitter that the dismissals were tantamount to fascism and a blow against democracy, while Istanbul’s CHP mayor Ekrem Imamoglu also slammed the move.

“Negating the will of the people is unacceptable,” he wrote on Twitter. Imamoglu himself was removed from office over irregularities shortly after coming to power in the March election, but won a re-run election in June.

More unusually, Turkey’s former president Abdullah Gul and ex-prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu, once allies of Erdogan from his AK Party who have emerged as potential political opponents, said on Twitter the dismissals were out of line with democracy.

The removal of the mayors echoed the dismissal of dozens of mayors in 2016 over similar accusations, part of a purge that began after a failed coup. Nearly 100 mayors and thousands of party members were jailed in a crackdown that drew expressions of concern from the United States and European Union.

Erdogan warned before the March elections that HDP mayors could again be dismissed if they, like their predecessors, were deemed to have ties to militants.

Erdogan frequently accuses the HDP of links to the PKK, which is designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the EU and the United States. The HDP denies such links.

The PKK launched an insurgency against the Turkish state in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

The Interior Ministry said recent operations had led to PKK militant numbers falling to their lowest level in 30 years, with the number of fighters in Turkey falling to some 600 from around 1,800-2,000 in the past.

Announcing the new operation against PKK militants, launched on Sunday in the provinces of Van, Sirnak and Hakkari, the ministry published images showing security forces firing machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades.

The security forces destroyed 43 caves and shelters used by the PKK, the ministry said, adding that operations would continue until all militants in the areas were “neutralized”. </s> Mayors of three eastern provinces dismissed by Interior Ministry

The Turkish Interior Ministry on Aug. 19 dismissed three mayors in eastern Turkey over what it called terror links.

According to an official statement by the ministry, the mayors of the southeastern Diyarbakır and Mardin provinces and the eastern Van province — Adnan Selçuk Mızraklı, Ahmet Türk, and Bedia Özgökçe Ertan — who were elected by overwhelming majorities in the March 31 local elections, have been suspended.

They are accused of various crimes, including “membership of a terrorist organization” and “spreading terrorist propaganda,” the statement said.

It added that the mayors already had active cases against them in which they were accused of crimes such as establishing or spreading propaganda for a terror group or just being members of it.

The ministry said the PKK “exerted heavy efforts to nominate candidates who would be easily led once they would be elected and would be under its guidance and orientation.”

“Once the metropolitan mayors of Diyarbakır, Mardin and Van provinces had taken their offices, it was highlighted that they exerted the so-called “co-mayor” practice upon the instructions of the leaders of the separatist terrorist organization,” said the statement.

All mayors are from the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), a party Turkey’s government has accused of having links to the PKK terror group. The state-appointed governors of the provinces will temporarily replace dismissed mayors.

The HDP appoints two co-leaders to almost all its constituencies, requiring that one leader is a man and the other a woman.

The mayors “intended to convert the municipalities into an administrative structure separate from the whole country, they de facto employed the former municipal employees, who had been removed from their offices due to their engagement, affiliation and relation with the terrorist organization,” said the statement.

Recalling ongoing separate investigations into and prosecutions on the mayors over alleged “terror links,” the statement said they have been suspended from their duties as an interim precaution for the safety of the judicial/administrative investigations/prosecutions.

The governor of Diyarbakır, Hasan Basri Güzeloğlu, has been appointed as acting metropolitan municipality mayor of Diyarbakır, Mardin Governor Mustafa Yaman as acting metropolitan municipality mayor of Mardin and Van Governor Mehmet Emin Bilmez as acting metropolitan municipality mayor of Van.

“We are after the struggle for democracy. We will surely ask the account of what this power has done,” said the co-chair of the HDP, Sezai Temelli.

In his first statement, Güzeloğlu said the municipal resources were being used in favor of the PKK and added: “This is unacceptable and unsustainable.”

“The ballot boxes will lose its meaning” if the elected mayors are suspended and trustees replace them, said the spokesperson of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Faik Öztrak, at a press conference.

Ahead of the March elections, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had said that the government will appoint trustees to the local municipalities they see as providing support to the PKK.

Ahead of the March local election, Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu said 178 election candidates were being investigated over alleged PKK links.

The government had previously replaced elected mayors with trustees on grounds that they allegedly aided and abetted PKK’s activities. The appointments were made predominantly in eastern and southeastern provinces’ municipalities run by the HDP.

In 2016, the Interior Ministry appointed trustees to 28 local municipalities across the country on accusations that they allegedly provided support to the PKK and FETÖ, widely believed to have staged the coup attempt of July 15, 2016.

In over 30 years of clashes between the PKK - listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU – and the Turkish state, more than 40,000 people have died.

More than 400 suspects detained in 29 provinces

Meanwhile, more than 400 people were detained in operations in 29 provinces across Turkey, including the southeastern and eastern provinces of Diyarbakır, Mardin, and Van, over alleged links to the outlawed PKK, the Interior Ministry said.

The ministry announcement, made on Twitter, followed its earlier announcement that the mayors of the three major southeastern and eastern provinces had been replaced by state-appointed officials in terrorism-related investigations.

The ministry said the PKK had been seeking to exploit the March elections to boost its support and had exerted efforts to nominate candidates who would be easily led once elected.

Police detained 418 people in 29 provinces in a related investigation targeting suspects with links to the outlawed PKK, the ministry added.

Security forces launched a domestic operation against the PKK in the country’s east and southeast, the Interior Ministry said on Monday.

The large scale offensive was launched in eastern Van province and southeastern Hakkari and Şırnak provinces on Aug. 18, the ministry said in a written statement. Some 130 teams of police, gendarmerie, and village guards joined the counter-terrorism operation, it added.

A total of 43 caves and shelters used by PKK militants have been destroyed so far, read the statement, adding that the operation will resolutely continue “until all terrorists in the region are neutralized.” Turkish authorities often use the term “neutralize” in statements to imply the militants in question surrendered or were killed or captured. </s> Turkey on Monday replaced mayors from a pro-Kurdish party with state officials in three cities and detained more than 400 people for suspected militant links, the Interior Ministry said, a move likely to fuel tensions in the mainly Kurdish southeast.

President Tayyip Erdogan had warned ahead of nationwide local elections in March of such a move against elected officials if they were found to have had connections to the outlawed militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

The mayors in Diyarbakir, Mardin and Van, major cities in the mainly Kurdish southeast, were accused of various crimes including membership of a terrorist organisation and spreading terrorist group propaganda, the ministry statement said.

“For the health of the investigations, they have been temporarily removed from their posts as a precaution,” it said, referring to Diyarbakir Mayor Selcuk Mizrakli, Mardin Mayor Ahmet Turk and Van Mayor Bedia Ozgokce Ertan.

CNN Turk showed police sealing off the municipality headquarters in Diyarbakir with metal barriers, as riot police deployed outside along with water cannon vehicles.

The Interior Ministry said the PKK had been seeking to exploit the March elections to boost its support and had exerted efforts to nominate candidates who would be easily led once elected.

Police detained 418 people in 29 provinces in a related investigation targeting suspects with links to the outlawed PKK group, the ministry added.

The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), to which the three mayors belong, said they had been dismissed “on an order based on lies and illegal justifications”.

“This is a new and clear political coup. It is a clear and hostile stance against the political will of the Kurdish people,” the HDP executive board said in a written statement.

It said the three mayors had been elected with between 53% to 63% of the vote in their cities in March and called for support from other political parties.

“This is not just the problem of the HDP and the Kurdish people. It is the shared problem of all Turkey’s peoples and all democratic forces,” it added.

Veli Agbaba, deputy leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), wrote on Twitter that the dismissals were tantamount to fascism and a blow against democracy, while Istanbul’s CHP mayor Ekrem Imamoglu also slammed the move.

“Negating the will of the people is unacceptable,” he wrote on Twitter. Imamoglu himself was removed from office over irregularities shortly after coming to power in the March election, but won a re-run election in June.

The removal of the mayors echoed the dismissal of dozens of mayors in 2016 over similar accusations, part of a purge that began after a failed coup. Nearly 100 mayors and thousands of party members were jailed in a crackdown that drew expressions of concern from the United States and European Union.

Ahead of the March election Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu had said 178 candidates were being investigated over alleged PKK links.

Erdogan at the time warned that HDP mayors could again be dismissed if they, like their predecessors, were deemed to have ties to militants.

Erdogan frequently accuses the HDP of links to the PKK, which is designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the EU and the United States. The HDP denies such links.

The PKK launched an insurgency against the Turkish state in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

The Interior Ministry said recent operations had led to PKK militant numbers falling to their lowest level in 30 years, with the number of fighters in Turkey falling to some 600 from around 1,800-2,000 in the past. </s> Mayors for the cities of Van, Diyarbakir and Mardin in east Turkey were dismissed over their alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Ankara has designated as a terrorist organization, the Turkish Interior Ministry said in a statement on Monday

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th August, 2019) Mayors for the cities of Van Diyarbakir and Mardin in east Turkey were dismissed over their alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Ankara has designated as a terrorist organization, the Turkish Interior Ministry said in a statement on Monday.

"The PKK structures used for their illegal purposes several mayors who have provided this terrorist organization with financial, transport and administrative assistance. An investigation has found that the mayors of Diyarbakir, Mardin and Van, Adnan Selcuk Mizrakli, Ahmet Turk and Bedia Ozgokce Ertan, have been dismissed," the ministry said.

According to the statement, the dismissed officials are to be replaced by acting mayors. Law enforcement has conducted searches in the former mayors' offices.

A total of 418 people in 19 Turkish provinces have also been detained over suspicions of having links to the PKK as part of a large-scale PKK probe, the ministry added.

Turkey's pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party said in a statement later in the day that the dismissal of the mayors by Ankara was a "political coup.

"Our Municipal Co-chairs, who were elected with 63% of the vote in Diyarbakir, 56% of the vote in Mardin and 53% of the vote in Van, have been removed from duty with an Interior Ministry order based on lies and unlawful grounds. A severe operation of detentions targeting our municipal council members and employees continues at this moment. This is a new and clear political coup," the statement said.

The PKK is officially listed as a terrorist organization in Turkey. Ankara has been fighting the PKK, which seeks to establish a Kurdish autonomy in Turkey, since the early 1980s. The Turkish government and the PKK agreed on a ceasefire in 2013, but it collapsed just two years later after several terror attacks allegedly committed by PKK militants.

Turkish security forces carry out regular anti-PKK raids across the country. In late May, Ankara launched Operation Claw targeting PKK militants in northern Iraq. </s> (Hatha al-Youm | Iraq News )-Turkey on Monday replaced Kurdish mayors with state officialsin three cities and detained more than 400 people for suspected militant links,the Interior Ministry said, a move likely to fuel tensions in the mainlyKurdish southeast.The ministry also said it had launched an operation with some2,300 commandos against militant fighters of the outlawed Kurdistan WorkersParty (PKK) in southeastern provinces.The mayors of three majorsoutheastern cities - Diyarbakir, Mardin and Van - are accused of various crimesincluding membership of a terrorist organization and spreading terrorist grouppropaganda, the ministry said in a statement.Riot police fired water cannon on small groups of peopleprotesting against the mayors’ dismissal in central Diyarbakir, where policesealed off the municipality headquarters with metal barriers, Reuters TV videoshowed.President Tayyip Erdogan hadwarned ahead of local elections in March of such a move against electedofficials if they were found to have had connections to the PKK.“For the health of theinvestigations, they have been temporarily removed from their posts as aprecaution,” the ministry said, referring to Diyarbakir Mayor Selcuk Mizrakli,Mardin Mayor Ahmet Turk and Van Mayor Bedia Ozgokce Ertan.Police detained 418 people in29 provinces in a related investigation targeting suspects with links to thePKK, the ministry added.The pro-Kurdish Peoples’Democratic Party (HDP), to which the three mayors belong, said they had beendismissed “on an order based on lies and illegal justifications”.“This is a new and clearpolitical coup. It is a clear and hostile stance against the political will ofthe Kurdish people,” the HDP executive board said in a written statement.It said the three mayors hadbeen elected with between 53% to 63% of the vote in their cities in March andcalled for support from other political parties.“This is not just the problem of the HDP and the Kurdish people.It is the shared problem of all Turkey’s peoples and all democratic forces,” itadded.Main Opposition Slams DismissalsVeli Agbaba, deputy leader ofthe main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), wrote on Twitter that thedismissals were tantamount to fascism and a blow against democracy, whileIstanbul’s CHP mayor Ekrem Imamoglu also slammed the move.“Negating the will of thepeople is unacceptable,” he wrote on Twitter. Imamoglu himself was removed fromoffice over irregularities shortly after coming to power in the March election,but won a re-run election in June.More unusually, Turkey’sformer president Abdullah Gul and ex-prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu, onceallies of Erdogan from his AK Party who have emerged as potential politicalopponents, said on Twitter the dismissals were out of line with democracy.The removal of the mayorsechoed the dismissal of dozens of mayors in 2016 over similar accusations, partof a purge that began after a failed coup. Nearly 100 mayors and thousands ofparty members were jailed in a crackdown that drew expressions of concern fromthe United States and European Union.Erdogan warned before theMarch elections that HDP mayors could again be dismissed if they, like theirpredecessors, were deemed to have ties to militants.Erdogan frequently accusesthe HDP of links to the PKK, which is designated a terrorist group by Turkey,the EU and the United States. The HDP denies such links.The PKK launched an insurgency against the Turkish state in1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict.The Interior Ministry saidrecent operations had led to PKK militant numbers falling to their lowest levelin 30 years, with the number of fighters in Turkey falling to some 600 fromaround 1,800-2,000 in the past.Announcing the new operationagainst PKK militants, launched on Sunday in the provinces of Van, Sirnak andHakkari, the ministry published images showing security forces firing machineguns and rocket-propelled grenades.The security forces destroyed43 caves and shelters used by the PKK, the ministry said, adding thatoperations would continue until all militants in the areas were “neutralized”.
Turkey's Ministry of the Interior tweets that 418 people in 29 provinces are detained by police, for suspected links with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The authorities have also announced that they "replaced" the mayors of three major southeastern cities.