Protests condemn Turkey’s use of chemical weapons

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The Turkish police arrested dozens of demonstrators in the Turkish capital Istanbul, during a protest organized by the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) against the Turkish army's use of chemical weapons in their operations against Kurds in Iraq and Syria.

Protesters, who staged a “March for Humanity Against Chemical Weapons”, called on the international community to conduct investigations regarding Turkey’s usage of chemical weapons against Kurds in Iraq and Syria.

The protesters stressed that the use of chemical weapons is a blatant and brutal violation of international law. Protesters reported that Turkish police arrested about 80 people when they tried to enter the HDP organization's building in Istanbul.

Similarly, thousands of people gathered in Talbin, in Bakur Kurdistan's Slobi region, to take part in a "humanitarian march" to condemn the deployment of chemical weapons.

Turkish police used water cannons and tear gas canisters to disperse the protest. PKK-affiliated media has uploaded recordings that reportedly show the Turkish army using chemical weapons against the armed organization in northern Iraq.

Ankara has repeatedly denounced these charges, claiming that "such allegations are entirely baseless."

 

This comes shortly after Turkish police arrested the head of the Turkish Doctors' Union, Sebnem Korur Financi, after she called for an investigation into accusations that Turkey has been using chemical weapons against Kurdish militants, according to prosecutors. 

Prosecutors announced that Financi was detained on "terror propaganda" charges. 

Ankara, on the other hand, rejected allegations that media outlets close to the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party), which is designated as a "terrorist group" by Turkey, have been making, accusing the Turkish army of employing chemical weapons in its aggression in northern Iraq. 

Fincanci, speaking to AFP last week, said that she has examined video footage of the allegations, and called for "an effective investigation". 

The chief prosecutor's office in Turkey, in a statement on Wednesday, revealed that the head of the Turkish union was detained over "her comments made to the so-called media organ of the armed terror organization PKK."

The prosecutor's office called for sacking Fincanci from her position and electing a new head.

On September 27, Ankara accused the PKK of carrying out an armed attack on a police station in the Mezitli district in Mersin, Turkey. One policeman died in the attack, in addition to the injury of four civilians, according to a statement by the Turkish Ministry of Interior. 

The Ministry also confirmed that "Turkish police killed the 2 terrorists that attacked the police station."

Read next: Two Syrian children killed, six injured in Turkish aggression

It is worth noting that Turkey had launched a cross-border military offensive against PKK militants in northern Iraq in an operation that was officially announced on April 18. The operation drew condemnation from Iraq, with the presidency saying that Ankara's operation "poses a threat" to Iraqi national security.