Turkish president says he is aware of 'plot' in Cizre

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has suggested there is a plot behind the ongoing unrest in Cizre, a town near the border with Syria and Iraq, where tension peaked after a 12-year-old boy was shot last week, the sixth person to be killed in the town in the last three weeks.

"Today, we are aware of the incident that is being attempted to be carried out in Cizre and we are taking our measures accordingly," Erdo?an said on Jan. 20 in a speech that was dominated by references to alleged dark plots carried out by the Gülen movement.

"Can you imagine those who are wearing formal dresses of this state and those who place bombs in the street using the state's armored vehicles?" Erdo?an added, in reference to three police officers who have been suspended after being charged with placing explosives on the roads in the southeastern Anatolian province of Hakkari on Jan. 15.

The government and Erdo?an, who was prime minister at the time, accuse the Gülen movement of organizing a plot through a graft probe that began on Dec. 17, 2013. Wiretappings, which include alleged voice recordings of Erdo?an, his family members, cabinet members and a number of businesspeople, were leaked online simultaneously with the probe last year.

Delivering a speech at the Energy Markets Summit held by the Energy Experts' Association, Erdo?an said the plot even included news reports made through the wiretapping of senior officials on energy policies.

"Now, we have entered their lairs. We know extremely well where the efforts to associate our country with terrorism in international field are stemming from. We are extremely aware of the parties in the alliance inside and outside of the country that aim to divert Turkey from its goals," he said.