JINHA

AMED – Turkish state police have raided a tent set up in Diyarbakır’s Sümerpark to hold a vigil for the besieged Sur district.

For 53 days, Turkish state forces have maintained a total blockade and martial law in the Sur district of Diyarbakır. Recently, political parties set up a tent in the city’s Sümerpark to hold a 24-hour vigil for Sur.

At 3:00 a.m. last night, hundreds of police swarmed the park and announced that the Diyarbakır governor had ordered that the tent be taken down. When locals holding the vigil said that they would not take down the tent, police said that they would “set it on fire” if the citizens did not comply.

Citizens took down the tent, but did not leave the area. The citizens said they plan to maintain the vigil as long as the siege on Sur continues.

(ekip/gc/cm)