29 May 2016•Update: 30 May 2016
HAKKARI, Turkey
A curfew in the southeastern Turkish province of Hakkari due to operations against the terrorist organization PKK has been partially lifted, said the Hakkari Governor’s Office on Sunday.
The office stated that the curfew began in the Yuksekova district on March 13, and began on March 30 in the village of Vezirli and the Cimenli area of the Yuksekova district.
According to the statement, the curfew is to be lifted between 5.00 a.m. (0200GMT) and 8.00 p.m. (1700GMT) every day in the Yuksekova district as of Monday, May 30.
The statement added that for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the curfew is to be lifted between 6.00 a.m. (0300GMT) and 10.00 p.m. (1900GMT) in the district as of June 5.
Ramadan – the sunrise-to-sunset holy month of fasting in Islam – begins on June 6 in Turkey this year.
The statement added that a team from the Environment and Urbanization Ministry has started to assess the cost of damaged houses in the district.
Damage suffered by businesspeople and merchants will be compensated, the statement added.
Turkey’s southeast has been the scene of significant military operations since December 2015 as the police and armed forces seek to clear the PKK terrorist organization from urban areas.
The PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU – resumed its 30-year armed campaign against the Turkish state in July 2015.
Since then, nearly 500 members of the security forces, including troops, police officers, and village guards, have been martyred, and over 4,900 PKK terrorists killed in operations across Turkey and northern Iraq.
