Two die in Turkey Kurdish clashes

Newroz often serves as a flashpoint for clashes
Police in south-eastern Turkey have clashed again with Kurdish protesters marking the Newroz spring festival, resulting in the deaths of two people.

Doctors in the town of Yuksekova said a man had died of bullet wounds. A second man also died after suffering bullet wounds in Saturday's clashes in Van.

More than 130 people were arrested and scores injured in the battles in Van.

The clashes began after the protesters hurled stones and chanted slogans in support of the PKK Kurdish rebel group.

The unrest follows last month's incursion by Turkey's army into northern Iraq to target the PKK - the Kurdistan Workers' Party.

Flashpoint occasion

The violence in Yuksekova, Hakkari province, began after police tried to break up the Newroz celebrations, which officials described as unauthorised.

Demonstrators hurled stones at the police who responded with tear gas, media reports said.

A 20-year-old man died of a bullet wound, doctors said. In the city of Van, the victim was a 35-year-old man, identified as Zeki Erinc.

Doctors there said he had been taken to hospital with a bullet wound on Saturday.

There is no official confirmation of the cause of death of these demonstrators.

A large Newroz demonstration took place under tight security in Istanbul on Sunday.

Since Friday, there have been clashes, arrests and injuries in Diyarbakir, the main city in Turkey's mainly Kurdish south-east, and in cities of Hakkari and Siirt provinces.

Unrest was also reported among Kurdish communities in western Turkey, including in Mersin and Izmir.

Turkey said its week-long offensive in northern Iraq last month targeted bases used by up to 3,000 Kurdish rebels as a springboard for attacks across the border.

The Turkish military said more than 200 PKK militants and about 30 members of the Turkish security forces had died.

Newroz is celebrated in Iran, northern Iraq and central Asia as the beginning of spring.

It is often a flashpoint for clashes between Turkish security forces and supporters of the PKK, which took up arms in 1984 to make a Kurdish ethnic homeland in south-eastern Turkey.

The PKK, which wants autonomy for Kurds in south-eastern Turkey, is designated as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the US and EU.

More than 30,000 people have been killed since the PKK began its armed campaign in 1984.

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