Artvin Governor's Office

Turkey will rebuild 60 houses burned in a fire in northeastern Artvin province, the environment and urbanization minister said on March 18. 

A fire broke out in a village in the northeastern province of Artvin, damaging at least 60 houses and killing 35 livestock, the local governor's office said on March 17.

In a statement, the Artvin Governor's Office said the fire erupted in the Dereiçi village of Yusufeli district.

The Turkish State of Council overturned a local court's decision dismissing a police officer due to his relationship with whom the General Directorate of Security identified as a "loose woman," paving the way for the policeman to be reinstated back to his job after four years.

The Artvin Governor's Office has banned rallies and protests in the Black Sea province for a month in the wake of an announcement that a hearing for a controversial mine construction will be held on Sept. 19. 

A lawsuit has been filed against 48 locals who protested a major company's mining efforts in the Black Sea province of Artvin in February.

Work to construct a mine in Artvin's Cerattepe district has reportedly been halted until the judicial process is completed, following a Feb. 24 meeting between a delegation from the district and Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu.

"Mining works in Cerattepe have been halted. The completion of the judicial process will be awaited," prime ministry sources have said.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu is set to meet with a delegation from the Black Sea province of Artvin on Feb. 24, in a bid to resolve ongoing unrest over plans to build a new mine in Artvin's Cerattepe district.

The governor's office in Artvin has banned entry to the province as protesters arrive to support hundreds of locals who have been resisting against a plan to construct a gold mine that could severely damage the Black Sea province.

Thousands of people have continued to protest against plans to construct a gold mine in a pristine area of remote northeastern Turkey.

Turkish security forces fired tear gas on the second day of a protest against a gold mine being built in an ecologically pristine area in the country's Black Sea region.