DİYARBAKIR – Reuters,

Turkish police have detained two British journalists from Vice News for reporting from the predominantly Kurdish southeast without government accreditation, security sources said on Aug. 28.

Police detained Jake Hanrahan and Philip Pendlebury in the Bağlar district of Diyarbakır province, where they were filming clashes between Turkish security forces and Kurdish militants, the sources said.

The two Britons and their Turkish translator were in close contact with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants, the same sources said.

“We are aware of the arrest of two British nationals in Diyarbakir.  Our consular officials in Turkey are providing consular assistance and are in touch with the Turkish authorities,” British Embassy officials told Hürriyet Daily News.

A 2-1/2-year-old ceasefire between Turkey and PKK militants collapsed in July after a group close to PKK militants shot dead two police officers. Ankara retaliated with strikes against the group in Iraq and Turkey.

Vice News describes itself as an international news organisation that focuses on under-reported stories around the globe.

August/28/2015