ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Twenty-seven people allegedly linked to a youth branch of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were arrested in Van province on Sunday, state media reported.
Van’s counter-terrorism directorate arrested 27 people allegedly linked to the PKK’s militant youth branch, the Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement (YDG-H), the state-owned Anadolu Agency (AA) reported.
According to a police statement shared by state media, the group was expected to demonstrate with “stones, molotovs and fireworks” on Monday, marking the anniversary of the arrest of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan on February 15, 1999, the pro-government IHA reported.
The PKK-linked Firat News Agency reported at least 71 people detained in different operations in the span of 24 hours.
The PKK is an armed group struggling for the increased cultural and political rights of Kurds in Turkey. It is regarded as a terrorist organization by Ankara and its allies.
According to the latest figures from the International Crisis Group, at least 5,229 people have been killed during PKK-Turkey clashes since July 2015, when the short-lived peace process between both sides ended.
Fifteen suspected members of the Civil Protection Units (YPS) - an armed group created by the PKK in late 2015, mostly made up of young people who carry out activities against Turkish security forces in urban areas - were arrested late January. Van governor’s office said that the raids were carried out in the cities of Van, Sirnak, Ankara and Istanbul, according to AA.
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