Members of YDG-H, a PKK-linked group, abducted two senior sergeants along with their arms on Saturday night after blocking the Diyarbakır - Bingöl Province Highway with trucks and asking for passing-by drivers’ identities.
It was also reported that YDG-H members detonated a sound bomb with nails, leaving 8 soldiers injured and hospitalized at Lice Public Hospital.
YDG-H announced that it won’t release the abducted soldiers until authorities pledge with a statement that no more military headquarters will be built.
Prior to the incident, gendarmerie forces intervened activists who were protesting against new military headquarters in Lice by setting up tents outside a construction area.
While the intervention came in the form of tear gas, several activist were affected with some passing out.
On the other hand, Diyarbakır Governor Mustafa Cahit Kıraç released a statement saying that they were trying to unblock the traffic on the highway as demonstrators reportedly seized the keys of trucks that blocked the road. (AS/BM)
* Photo credit: Özgür Ayaydın / AA
* Click here to read the article in Turkish.
