29 Mar 2024
Sunday 11 October 2015 - 17:12
Story Code : 184096

Turkish police, mourners clash near Ankara blasts site

Turkish police, mourners clash near Ankara blasts site
Clashes have erupted in the Turkish capital city of Ankara after police prevented pro-Kurdish politicians and other mourners from laying carnations at the site of the recent deadly blasts.

Thousands of people filled Sihhiye Square, locatedclose to the site of the bombingsin central Ankara, to remember the victims of the attacks, with some of them shouting anti-government slogans.

Selahattin Demirtas and Figen YuksekdagSenoglu, co-leaders of the pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party (HDP), were held back by police as they tried to approach the site of the incident.Police said that investigators were still working at the explosions site.

However, some 70 mourners were eventually allowed to enter the cordoned-off area to pay respect to the victims.They latermarched on Sihhiye Square.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="555"] Turkish police block the way to the site of the recent deadly explosions in Ankara, October 11, 2015. AP[/caption]

On Saturday, twin explosions targeted activists who had convenedoutside Ankaras main train station for a peace rallyorganized by leftist and pro-Kurdish opposition groups. Ankara has saidat least 95 people were killed and 246 wounded in the attacks.

Following the blasts,Demirtassaid the attack was a repeat of the bombing of an HDP rally in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir ahead of the June 7 elections and a July 20 bombing blamed on the Daesh Takfiri terrorists in the town of Suruc. He also criticized the Turkish government for its security and intelligence failure to prevent the attacks.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="555"] Members of a police forensic team gather evidence at the site of the deadly explosions in Ankara, Turkey, October 10, 2015. AFP[/caption]

The Turkish government has declared three days of national mourning over the fatal Ankara blasts, with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu saying that there were strong signs that the attacks were carried out bytwo bombers who blewthemselves up.

On Saturday night, thousands of people also held a demonstration in the Turkish city of Istanbul in protestagainstthe explosions.

By Press TV
https://theiranproject.com/vdchwknz-23n6vd.01t2.html
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