JINHA

ŞIRNEX - Clashes continued throughout the night in the Kurdish town of Silopi in Turkey. Snipers have killed one woman and wounded a 14-year-old girl.

Gunshots rang out until morning in the town of Silopi, in Northern Kurdistan (in Turkey). Yesterday, locals attempted to protest the police assassination of three young residents, but police opened fire on the crowd with live ammunition. Towards evening, electricity was cut in the city. Residents started a noise demo to protest the military and police attacks.

At midnight, snipers positioned on rooftops throughout the town began opening fire on the residents. Snipers shot 14-year-old girl Berfin Öktem and her mother, Fatma Ay, who were sleeping on the roof of their home. Fatma, a mother of nine, lost her life in the hospital. Medics rushed Berfin to hospital. She has been transferred to the main Kurdish city of Diyarbakır for treatment.

Intensive clashes began in the Yenişehir neighborhood around 1:00 a.m. At 5:00 a.m., there was a loud explosion. There is still no word on whether the explosion harmed anyone.

The bodies of the three young men assassinated by police--Halil Can, Ali Ödük and Faruk Aydın--have been sent to the state hospital in the provincial capital of Şırnak for autopsy.

(zd-ma/fk/cm)