Turkey appoints third ever woman governor

The Turkish government has launched a significant reshuffle of governors across the country, replacing the governors of 11 provinces and appointing the country's third ever woman governor.

The decision by the cabinet, which was published in the Official Gazette on Feb. 19 following President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an's approval, appointed Yasemin Özata Çetinkaya as the governor of the Black Sea province of Sinop.

Turkey's first ever woman governor was Lale Aytaman, who served in the Aegean province of Mu?la from 1991 to 1995. Esengül Civelek, the second woman governor in the country's history, still serves in the Thracian province of K?rklareli.

According to the Feb. 19 cabinet decision, the governors of six provinces - A?r?, Bolu, Gaziantep, Mardin, ??rnak and Van - have been reassigned to headquarters in Ankara, while the governors of five provinces - Bingöl, Düzce, Elaz??, Sinop and Tekirda? - have been posted to other provinces. 

The Southeastern Anatolian province of Bingöl has been the site of some unrest in recent months. In late November 2014, the head of the riot police department was wounded in a gun attack by an unknown assailant in the province.

Another gun attack on the police was launched in October 2014 in the city, causing the death of Bingöl Police Department deputy head At?f ?ahin and police chief Hüseyin Hatipo?lu. The head of city's police department, Atalay Ülker, and his bodyguard were wounded in the attack.

In October 2014, the General Staff announced that the body of a village guard who was kidnapped by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and had been missing for two months was found hanging from a telegraph post in the Tatvan district of Bitlis.