Hundreds of residents in the Alipaşa and Lalebey neighborhoods in the Sur district of Diyarbakır province are at imminent risk of forced eviction, Amnesty International said in an urgent action call on Thursday, urging the Turkish government to halt forced evictions.
The Turkish government has been telling Sur residents to evacuate their homes as part of a redevelopment project that was launched following clashes between the military and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
“Since 23 May, during the fasting month of Ramadan, water and electricity supplies to residents’ homes were cut off in an apparent attempt to force them out,” the statement said, adding that they were earlier subjected to round-the-clock curfews due to clashes ongoing from December 2015 to March 2016. (Turkey Purge)