Story highlights
Violence, including attacks on the offices of a pro-Kurdish political party, has marred some of the rallies
The Kurdistan Workers' Party, the PKK, has been blamed for a string of deadly attacks on Turkey's security forces
Crowds of people have joined anti-terror rallies in cities across Turkey this week, amid rising tensions fueled by the deaths of 29 security personnel in the space of three days.
Sixteen soldiers were killed in an attack Sunday on a military convoy in Hakkari, in southeastern Turkey, according to a statement from Turkey’s military. It was claimed by the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK.
On Tuesday, 13 police officers were killed in a roadside bomb attack in eastern Igdir province, Turkey’s semiofficial news agency Anadolu said. Its report cited security officials as blaming the attack on the PKK.
Such attacks have fueled nationalist sentiments, at a time when the Turkish authorities have also stepped up military operations against the PKK.
Violent clashes marred some demonstrations held Monday and Tuesday, including in the capital, Ankara, and the cities of Corum and Kirsehir in central Anatolia, according to Anadolu.
The pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party, the HDP, said on Twitter that its offices in Ankara and elsewhere had been attacked and set on fire.
Prime Minister appeals for calm
The unrest prompted Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to call for calm Tuesday and urge people to respect the law.
“Vandalizing properties, particularly of media outlets, political party centers and civilian properties cannot be accepted,” he tweeted.
“The punishment of terror will be imposed by security forces and judiciary. Nobody should put themselves in the place of law.”
HDP leader Selahattin Demirtas said via Twitter that an archive room that was being used for election preparations had been burned down but that the party’s work would continue.
On its official Twitter account, the U.S. Embassy in Ankara voiced concern over the reports of violence, particularly against political parties and ethnic minorities, and urged the Turkish people to protest peacefully. It also urged the protection of media outlets.
The offices of Turkey’s Hurriyet newspaper have been targeted by protesters throwing stones in the past few days, reportedly over claims it misrepresented comments made by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Separately, Dutch journalist Frederike Geerdink, who has long been based in southeastern Turkey and specializes in covering the Kurdish conflict, is to be deported, Anadolu reported Wednesday.
According to Anadolu, more than 100 Turkish security force members have been killed since July.
The attacks are blamed on the PKK, which issued a statement declaring that a 2013 ceasefire with Turkey was over following a suicide bomb attack in Suruc on July 20, according to the pro-PKK Firat News Agency.
The blast – carried out by an alleged ISIS suicide bomber – killed 33 people when it struck a gathering of mostly Kurdish activists calling for more help to rebuild the shattered Syrian Kurdish city of Kobani.
Ground incursion
The renewed hostilities have prompted a heightened military response from Turkey.
Turkish soldiers have crossed the border into northern Iraq in “a hot-pursuit presence as part of combating terrorism,” a Turkish government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told CNN on Tuesday.
It has been more than two years since a Turkish ground incursion into Iraq, its southeastern neighbor.
The Turkish military also has conducted airstrikes in recent months against suspected PKK targets in the mountains of northern Iraq and arrested PKK members in Turkey.
The PKK, which has been calling for greater autonomy and Kurdish rights in Turkey, has been in an armed struggle with Turkish authorities for decades and has been designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. The conflict has killed 45,000 people since 1984.
Erdogan said Tuesday that the key to ending the latest violence lies with the people living in the country’s southeastern provinces, Anadolu reported.
“If the people in the region stand against the terrorist organization … this issue will be quickly solved,” he told education officials in Ankara, according to the news agency.
The unrest comes at a time when Turkey also faces the threat posed by ISIS extremists across the border in Iraq and Syria.
Last month, it launched its first airstrikes against ISIS in Syria as part of the U.S.-led coalition against the extremist group.
CNN’s Zeynep Bilginsoy and Schams Elwazer contributed to this report.