JINHA

AMED - Civilians spent last night in the area of clashes in the largely Kurdish Lice district in the hopes of stopping the fighting.

Three days ago, Turkish soldiers launched an operation in the Diyarbakır province of Northern Kurdistan (in Turkey). Hundreds of local civilians headed to the rural area of Hurê (known in Turkish as Gömeç), with the hopes of serving as "human shields" and stopping the clashes.

As Turkish soldiers deployed on hills in the area, civilians set up a vigil between the positions of HPG guerillas (tied to the Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK) and Turkish soldiers. The locals spent the night singing and dancing around a fire during their vigil. Today at dawn, they began cleaning up the site of their ongoing vigil. Two military helicopters were seen conducting reconnaissance flights this morning.

This morning, hundreds more people set off from the city of Diyarbakır to join the vigil on the hills of the area.

(şa/fk/cm)