Turkey detains mayors of mainly Kurdish city

Turkish authorities on Tuesday detained the co-mayors of the mainly Kurdish southeast city of Diyarbakir on charges of aiding militants, as part of a government crackdown after more than a year of violence in the region.

Gultan Kisanak, a former member of parliament before her election as mayor in Diyarbakir, and Firat Anli, her co-mayor, were taken into custody as part of an investigation into terrorism links, the local prosecutor said in a statement.

President Tayyip Erdogan has said the removal of elected officials and civil servants who are accused of links to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is listed as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, is a key part of the fight against the armed group.

The two are accused of making speeches in support of the PKK and of greater political autonomy for Turkey's estimated 16 million Kurds, the Diyarbakir prosecutor's statement said.

They are also accused of using municipal vehicles to transport the bodies of dead militants and of inciting violent protests, it added.

According to Reuters news agency, Turkey appointed new administrators in two dozen Kurdish-run municipalities in September, after removing their elected mayors over suspected links to militants.

The autonomy-seeking PKK took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984, and more than 40,000 people have died in the war.