Reuters AlertNet Lite - Gunshot fired at Kurd party HQ in Turkish capital

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Gunshot fired at Kurd party HQ in Turkish capital

03 Oct 2007 13:36:45 GMT
Source: Reuters

ANKARA, Oct 3 (Reuters) - An unknown assailant fired a gunshot at the headquarters of Turkey's main pro-Kurdish political party on Wednesday but nobody was hurt, party officials said.

The incident came a day after two bomb blasts in the Aegean city of Izmir which killed one person and injured nearly a dozen others. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack, but Turkish media have blamed it on armed Kurdish separatists.

The pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) is also at loggerheads with Turkey's powerful and respected army generals, who accuse it of backing terrorism through its refusal to condemn the Kurdish rebel guerrillas.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has also urged the DTP, which has 20 members in the parliament, to denounce the rebels of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

Senior DTP official Mustafa Sarikaya told Reuters: "This attack is the result of state officials and the media targeting our party."

The gunman escaped by car after firing the shot, the DTP officials said. Police found a 9 mm cartridge case at the scene, in an Ankara suburb.

The DTP, which seeks more freedoms for Turkey's large ethnic Kurdish minority, says it rejects violence but many Turks regard it as just a mouthpiece for the PKK rebels.

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Last updated:Wed Oct 3 13:37:05 2007