Civilans evacuated as clashes intensify in southeastern Turkey

Fierce clashes continued Dec. 22 in several southeastern Turkish towns and cities as hundreds of people, including children, were removed from their houses in Silopi, a town in ??rnak, to safe spots by security forces. 

More outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants were killed, the military said while one more soldier was also killed. 

The evacuated people, estimated at about 500, were sheltered at a sports hall initially, before being moved to the houses of their relatives in calm districts. The evacuation demand came from the citizens, Anadolu Agency reported. Kids said they feared the gun shots, it said. 

Do?an News Agency said many families in the neighborhoods of Nuh, Cudi, Yeni?ehir, Kar??yaka, Ye?iltepe and ?ehit Harun Boy were facing difficulties in accessing water, food and other basic needs. 

Tanks were operating on some streets of Cudi. 

Thousands of people have reportedly left the districts where clashes continue. 

Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu said while addressing his party deputies in a weekly meeting that the displaced people will get state support.

"Our governors will contact our citizens and meet their needs," he said, adding that craftsmen in the region will also receive aid and incentives. 

Some houses were largely destroyed in clashes in Silopi. A bomb that hit a house luckily caused no casualty since it was empty. 

On Dec. 22, Birkan Gündüz, a gendarmerie specialized sergeant who was killed by the PKK in the Sur district of Diyarbak?r a day earlier, was laid to rest. 

Separate ceremonies were held for gendarmerie specialized sergeant Samet Pi?kin and specialized corporal Eren K?l?ç, who were killed by a road side bomb in Bitlis, another...