Kurdish Unrest in Turkey Kills 12; Premier Urges Calm

Army commandos patrolled the southeastern city of Diyarbakir on Thursday, and Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz appealed for calm after 12 people were killed in the worst Kurdish unrest in Turkey this year.

At least three people were killed and 122 were injured in fighting between Kurds and security forces in Diyarbakir on Wednesday.

Officials said security forces killed eight Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas 125 miles further east near the town of Sirvan. A village guard also died in Wednesday’s clash with a 70-member PKK band, they said.

Officials and residents gave contrasting reports of what sparked the violence at the funeral in Diyarbakir of a murdered Kurdish politician that drew 25,000 mourners.

Residents said police opened fire after some members of the cortege stoned a police station. State minister Imren Aykut said unidentified people in the crowd fired the first shots.

The injured included four Kurdish members of Parliament, two police officers and two journalists.

A statement issued by the Diyarbakir provincial governor said the injured included 107 civilians, 38 of whom had bullet wounds. Fifteen police officers were wounded by bullets or stones. More than 350 people were detained.

The murdered politician, Vedat Aydin, was the Diyarbakir chairman of the People’s Labor Party, formed by nine deputies expelled from the opposition Social Democratic Populist Party two years ago for attending a Kurdish conference abroad.

Aydin’s bullet-riddled body was found Monday, three days after uniformed men snatched him from his home.