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Curfew declared in 15 Diyarbakır villages

A woman looks at her home destroyed during clashes in the Sur district of Diyarbakir on March 13, 2016. Turkey on March 13 eased a curfew in part of Diyarbakir, the main city in the country's Kurdish-dominated southeast, but imposed it in two others as a prelude to fresh army operations against rebels. Turkish armed forces have been waging a major -- and controversial -- offensive against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) since December 2015, imposing strict 24-hour curfews in a number of towns and cities in the southeast. / AFP PHOTO / ILYAS AKENGIN

According to a statement released by the governor of Diyarbakır, a curfew has been put into effect in 15 villages of the province, starting from Monday morning.

The statement said the curfew aims to protect civilians during counterterrorism operations against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The duration of the curfew has not been clarified, and residents were told to observe it until a second official announcement.

Curfews have become common throughout 2016 in Turkey’s Southeast following the collapse of a settlement process between the state and the PKK, launched to end Turkey’s decades-long struggle against the terrorist group.

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