Groups attack, set fire to HDP buildings after deadly bombing in Kayseri

A group of people marched on the provincial branch office of the opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri on Dec. 17, attacking and inflicting damage to the property in an act that was repeated in several other provinces.

Hours after a deadly bombing targeting military personnel in Kayseri, a group of around 1,000 people staged a demonstration in reaction to the attack that was suspected of being conducted by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Marching to Republic Square in Kayseri amid chants against the PKK and vows to take revenge, the angry crowd advanced toward the HDP Kayseri Provincial Branch building in the Cumhuriyet neighborhood and attempted to enter the building. Faced with a police blockade, the group stoned the building and climbed up its window to take down the party's signboard. The group also broke the windows and hung a Turkish flag as well as the flag of the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). Some of the assailants also threw down possessions from the office and set them on fire. 

A group of protesters also became stuck on the roof after the building was set on fire.

Meanwhile, in the Republic Square, main opposition Republican People's Party's (CHP) Kocasinan district youth branch head Cemre Doğan and several other party members were attacked by the protesting crowd. Police intervened in the incident by firing warning shots into the air to disperse the crowd. Faced with the resistance of the protestors, police formed a security corridor that was able to securely take Doğan to her car. The crowd dispersed after Doğan's departure. 

The attacks targeting the HDP in Kayseri were followed by consecutive attacks against the party by crowds in other...