Operations expected in southeast amid deadly clashes, curfews and exodus

As deadly violence continues in several towns in Turkey's southeast, many schools stayed closed on Dec. 14 as large numbers of people left their homes, amid reports that the security forces were preparing a large-scale operation against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). 

Two people were killed in pre-curfew clashes between protesters and security forces in Diyarbak?r's central Sur district, while two others were wounded. 

Clashes broke out after the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) tried to stage a rally in the town to protest the curfews in Sur, where the head of the Bar Association, Tahir Elçi was shot dead on Nov. 28. Police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the crowd as masked groups tried to block the roads with barricades. 

Most shops remained closed in the city while public transport was halted and garbage collection was stopped.
 
As in other towns in the region where clashes have continued amid curfews, many students did not go to school in Sur.

Elsewhere, many people left their homes in the towns of Cizre and Silopi in the province of ??rnak before the announced start of another curfew scheduled for 11 p.m. on Dec. 14.

Military transport planes landed at ??rnak's ?erafettin Elçi Airport, unloading soldiers and special forces. 

A number of locals loaded their belongings onto vehicles to reach the center of ??rnak or cross to other provinces. Many struggled to leave Cizre on foot as PKK militants attempt to prevent the exodus, seizing the car keys of some trying to leave. 

Anadolu Agency reported that PKK militants fired at a car that refused to stop, shooting 15-year-old Mevlüde ??di in the head. 

The biggest exodus from Cizre was from the town's neighborhoods...