Four civilians were killed after their house was bombed in the Kurdish city of Silopi, Turkey, the pro-Kurdish Dicle News Agency (DİHA) reported. The shelling by Ankara forced many residents to flee the area, according to social media reports.The four victims were from the same family, among them a 70-year-old woman, according to Ferhat Encü, an MP from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) who represents Silopi.
A photo posted online showed smoke billowing from the premises.
Two neighborhoods in the city have been emptied by security forces, and people are being detained at various locations, Encü said. He added that heavy clashes between security forces and PKK fighters are taking place in both of the neighborhoods which are being evacuated.
“There are a lot houses being [set] on fire. People are being forced to leave their homes. They are being beaten,” Encü said.
It comes just one day after a curfew was imposed on Silopi, following an attack on an armored police vehicle that left one officer dead and four injured. The curfew was announced to residents via loudspeakers mounted on minarets and police vehicles.
PHOTO: Scale of destruction in Kurdish town of İdil (Hezex) in Şırnak province, after 44 days of military curfew. pic.twitter.com/K1Or3H2j5W
— Turkey Untold (@TurkeyUntold) April 6, 2016