Diyarbakir governor's offıce denies trustees appointed claims

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey

Diyarbakir Governor’s Office denied the claims the two districts in the province had been taken over by government-appointed trustees.

The governorate said in a statement that there were no trustees at this juncture.

"If trustees are assigned, a statement will be made public," the statement added.

Earlier, it was reported that trustees had been sent to Diyarbakir province’s Sur and Silvan districts as part of a state decree.

Sur Mayor Seyid Narin and Silvan Mayor Yuksel Bodakci are currently being prosecuted for earlier declarations of “self-governance”.

Both are accused of “disrupting the unity and territorial integrity of the state,” and could face aggravated life imprisonment if convicted.

Turkey has previously appointed trustees to government institutions and business groups.

Tension is high in southeastern Turkey since the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July last year.

Since then, PKK terrorist attacks martyred more than 600 security personnel and also claimed the lives of many civilians, including women and children, while more than 7,000 PKK terrorists were killed in army operations.​

*Reporting by Aziz Aslan; Writing by Handan Kazanci