Diyarbakir, a rudimentary bomb hits workers' bus: seven dead and 10 wounded

The bomb was placed at the edge of the road and exploded yesterday evening as the vehicle passed. According to the Turkish authorities, the Kurdish militia of the PKK are behind the attack. One of the injured has already been discharged while two others are in serious condition. In August three mayors removed and 400 people arrested for alleged links with the independence movement.

Diyarbakir (AsiaNews / Agencies) - At least seven people have died and a dozen have been injured in an attack that took place late yesterday in the predominantly Kurdish province of Diyarbakir, in south-eastern Turkey.

According to reports from the local governor's office a rudimentary device was placed at the edge of the road and detonated at the passage of a vehicle laden with villagers from the area.

The Turkish authorities point the finger at the militants of the Kurdish workers' party (PKK), an organization considered "terrorist" by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. For Ankara they would be responsible for the attack that hit the civilian population; the explosion occurred in the Kulp district and invested a group of foresters returning from work.

Commenting on the attack, the Turkish Minister of the Interior Suleyman Soylu speaks of "seven of our brothers who suffered martyrdom in the explosion of a rudimentary device, which hit the vehicle they were on". The wounded, he adds after a visit to the hospital, would be "at least 10, but one of these has already been discharged" while two others are "in serious condition".

The PKK, a party declared outlawed in Turkey and whose leader Abdullah Öcalan has been in prison since 1999 [the death penalty was commuted to life imprisonment in 2002], launched an armed struggle against Ankara in 1984, denouncing widespread abuse and discrimination against Kurdish minority. Since the end of the ceasefire, which came into force in March 2013, Turkish military operations and Kurdish retaliation have caused hundreds of victims.

According to the Turkish government there is precisely the hand of the PKK (and affiliated groups) in a series of attacks in the recent past that have bloodied the country. The total victims of the separatist guerrillas would be at least 40 thousand, among which there are also women, children and babies. The violence also pushed many residents of the area to flee to avoid being involved in the fighting, which involved campaigns and urban centers. One of the objectives of the military operations of the Turkish army, which has recently increased the pressure against Kurdish groups and politicians, is precisely to expel fighters from urban centers.

In August the Turkish authorities removed three mayors and arrested over 400 people for alleged links with the PKK. Against them, the ministry has made accusations of "spreading anti-government propaganda" and joining a "terrorist" organization.