Turkey partially lifts curfew in Cizre district

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish authorities say a curfew in the district of Cizre in the southeastern province of Sirnak will be lifted at 5 a.m. on Wednesday, March 2, the Associated Press reports.

The local administrator's office said in a statement the curfew will be lifted during daylight hours but will remain in place between 7:30 p.m. and 5 a.m.

The curfew was declared on December 14, coupled with large-scale military operations to flush out Kurdish militants who set up ditches and trenches to keep security forces at bay.

Security operations there ended on Feb. 11.

A similar curfew remains in place in the historic district of Sur in the mainly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir and one was recently imposed in Idil, another district of Sirnak, AP says.

Human rights groups have raised concerns about civilian casualties in the security operations.