Illegal demonstrations, which have ensued over the past two days in the Şırnak province Cizre, continued again into the night yesterday.
In Cizre, a group of approximately 50 demonstrators protesting the fact that the bodies of ten dead PKK terrorists were not released to their families transformed the E24 International highway into a combat zone. Demonstrations resulted in the E24 Highway being closed off to traffic. The E24 Highway connects Turkey to Iraq and is used by approximately 5,000 vehicles every day.
The majority of demonstrators were children, which barricaded the highway where the local cemetery is located using stones, trash cans, traffic signs and tires.
Demonstrators set tires on fire as they chanted illegal slogans and proceeded to check each vehicle attempting to pass through. When drivers objected to such treatment, the protesters even went so far as to attack. Firefighters arrived to the scene, which began to resemble a battlefield, and were met with resistance as demonstrators rained stones on the fire truck and warned the firefighting team to turn back. When the violence escalated as activists began throwing Molotov Cocktails, police forces used gas bombs and tear gas to subdue the situation.
Due to the fact that demonstrators dispersed into alleyways and continued to persist in throwing stones at police forces, a number of riot squads and Special Forces teams were dispatched to the region.
