Turkish security forces have killed a Kurdish protestor, after demonstrations against the removal of a statue of Mahsum Korkmaz, the founder of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
The statue was unveiled in a PKK cemetery last week, in the Kurdish city of Lice, to mark the 30th anniversary of the first attack by the group, which is banned as a terrorist organisation in the country.
The PKK is a Kurdish political and military organisation that fought in an armed struggle against the Turkish state for the cultural and political rights and for self-determination for Kurds in Turkey. Since 2013 there has been a ceasefire between the PKK and Turkish state.
Protestors gathered to stop Turkish security forces from removing the statue, resulting in clashes. Twenty-four year old Mehdi Taşkin died after reportedly being shot in the head, according to the Turkish daily Hurriyet.
The Kurdistan Communities' Union (KCK), an umbrella organisation which includes the PKK, slammed the military operation to remove the statue and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), of recently re-elected Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“It is obvious that the AK Party is playing with fire,” KCK said in a statement.
“The attack on Korkmaz's statue, [in] the cemetery of martyrs and … firing bullets on residents amount to dynamiting an already non-existent process and an atmosphere of ceased hostilities,” the KCK said.