Turkey Kurds protest building of border wall

Thousands of Kurdish protesters have demonstrated again in southeastern Turkey against Ankara’s building of a controversial wall on the border with Syria.

The protesters — many waving red, yellow and green Kurdish flags — gathered on Thursday in the Turkish town of Nusaybin, where the wall is being constructed on the border with the northern Syrian town of Qamishli, Reuters reported.

Riot police moved in to break up the demonstration, which was organized by Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP).

Kurdish protesters say the wall divides them from family members on the Syrian side of the border.

“You see how they divide Kurdistan,” said Bahattin Ozbek, a BDP mayoral candidate who attended the demonstration.

“We want to unite with our ethnic kin and get rid of this border,” he said, pointing to a line of riot police, flanked by water cannon and armored vehicles along the barbed wire fence.

BDP leader Selahattin Demirtas told the crowds that the government had promised to abandon the plans, but said the protests continue until the border is fully open to trade.

He also accused Turkey of backing militants who are fighting against Kurdish groups in Syria.

“Our protests will continue until government support for these gangs is halted,” he said.

Turkey began the construction of the wall last month, saying it is concerned about the spillover of violence from northern Syria.

The Turkish government is a staunch supporter of militants in Syria providing them with arms, training and shelter.

In October, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad echoed warned that Ankara will pay the price for supporting militants, as they would eventually turn against their host.

Turkey has a 900-kilometer border with Syria. Militants have been able to infiltrate into the Arab country undetected in remote areas, by passing the main crossing points.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey — are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.

According to the UN, more than 100,000 people have been killed and a total of 7.8 million others displaced due to the violence.