Turkey to partially lift 8-month long curfew in SE city

By Ekrem Payan

SIRNAK, Turkey

The eight-month long curfew in southeastern Turkey's Sirnak city center will be "partially" lifted as of Nov. 14 following operations against the terrorist organization PKK, the provincial governor said Sunday.

The curfew in the area had begun on March 14 in an effort to cleanse it of PKK terrorists, to fill in trenches, remove barricades and destroy explosive traps, Sirnak Governor Ali Ihsan Su told Anadolu Agency.

"The curfew will be lifted between 5.00 a.m. [0300GMT] and 10.00 p.m. [0700GMT] everyday as of Nov. 14," he added.

Su also said the damages to civilians caused by PKK attacks in the area would be compensated within a short time.

The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July last year.

Since then, PKK terrorist attacks martyred more than 700 security personnel and also claimed the lives of many civilians, including women and children, while nearly 8,000 PKK terrorists were killed in army operations.

Erdogan on Sunday said the PKK had so far killed 787 security personnel and 312 civilians as well as injuring over 4,000 security forces and more than 2,000 civilians since July 20, 2015.