NUSAYBIN: Thousands of Kurds protested yesterday against Turkish plans to build a wall along the Syrian border, calling it a move to stop Kurdish communities strengthening cross-frontier ties as Syria splinters from civil war.
Riot police tolerated the protests, organised by Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), for much of the day but fired tear gas to disperse groups of demonstrators as a sit-down protest began following the main speeches.
BDP leader Selahattin Demirtas told the crowds that the government had promised to abandon the plans, but said the protests should continue until the border was fully open to trade. He accused Turkey of backing radical Islamists fighting Kurdish groups in Syria.
REUTERS
