Turkey Opposition Leader Attacked by Mob at Soldier's Funeral
Turkey Opposition Leader Attacked by Mob at Soldier's Funeral
(Bloomberg) -- An angry mob attacked Turkish opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu at a military funeral in Ankara on Sunday.
Kilicdaroglu, chairman of the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, was punched and kicked at the service for one of four soldiers killed in a clash with the separatist PKK group near the Iraqi border on Friday, state-run Anadolu Agency reported. He was taken to safety at a nearby house that the mob pelted with stones, according to Halk TV.
Kilicdaroglu’s senior adviser Deniz Demir confirmed the assault in a tweet and said the opposition leader was in good condition. “We will leave once security forces take control of the situation,” Demir said.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been criticizing the opposition party for cooperating with the pro-Kurdish political party HDP. Erdogan calls the HDP an extension of the PKK, which is pushing for an autonomous Kurdish state in Turkey and is considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and European Union.
Tensions have been high in Turkey since March 31 municipal elections dealt a blow to Erdogan’s ruling AK Party. AKP is contesting its defeat in commercial hub Istanbul, claiming widespread irregularities and demanding a new vote.
--With assistance from Selcan Hacaoglu.
To contact the reporter on this story: Cagan Koc in Istanbul at ckoc2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Onur Ant at oant@bloomberg.net, ;Lin Noueihed at lnoueihed@bloomberg.net, Amy Teibel, Paul Abelsky
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