DIYARBAKIR

Turkey's pro-Kurdish parties have urged people to not fall into the "trap of provocation and violence" in the aftermath of deadly clashes in southeast Turkey.

Clashes between pro- and anti-PKK groups in Turkey's southeastern town of Cizre on Saturday killed three people and injured three others.

The PKK or Kurdistan Workers' Party has claimed about 40,000 lives in Turkey in the past three decades and is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU.

"Everybody must be vigilant in the face of the trap set in Cizre," warned Ali Simsek, the provincial head of Democratic Regions Party or DBP in Diyarbakir on Monday.

"We must be alert and not fall into such traps. Thanks to their common sense, our people have prevented a possible massacre," Simsek said as he read aloud a press statement on behalf of DBP, Peoples' Democratic Party, and The Democratic Society Congress, a platform that brings together pro-Kurdish groups.

Attempts to sabotage the "solution and peace process" through intimidation and massacre plots were thwarted, Simsek said referring to the effort launched by the Turkish government in early 2013 to settle the Kurdish issue, and secure an end to the decades-long conflict with the PKK.

"The DBP strongly disapproves such internal conflicts among the Kurdish population, and will respond in a democratic manner to all kinds of provocations and plots that repeatedly aim to lure Kurds into an armed conflict," he added.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also said Sunday that Cizre clashes were "all provocations which were not only aimed at the state, but also intended to cause anger between different political groups."

Davutoglu advised people to be calm. "We will not tolerate those who want to bring clashes and unrest outside Turkey into our country, especially to the border provinces," he said.

www.aa.com.tr/en