ANKARA, Turkey – Thousands of people have marched in several Turkish cities to denounce a Kurdish rebel attack that killed 13 soldiers.
The state-run Anatolia news agency says protesters, carrying Turkish flags and chanting slogans against the Kurdish rebels, marched in Istanbul, the capital of Ankara and in other cities across the country Sunday.
The military said 13 soldiers were killed in the mainly Kurdish province of Diyarbakir on Thursday, when the rebels attacked with hand grenades, sparking a firefight. Seven rebels were also killed and seven other soldiers injured. It was the deadliest violence involving Kurdish guerrillas in three years.
The rebels of the Kurdistan Worker's Party, or PKK, are waging a campaign for autonomy in southeastern Turkey. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people since 1984.
