Repairs begin on damaged Turkish mosques, churches

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (AA) – The restoration of mosques and churches damaged in the Sur district of Turkey's southeastern Diyarbakir province has begun, the area’s governor told reporters on Wednesday.

Huseyin Aksoy visited Sur’s Fatihpasa mosque, which was set fire on fire twice by PKK terrorists in recent fighting.

Aksoy said that historical monuments at UNESCO-protected sites in the district were severely damaged during PKK attacks.

"We will repair our mosques and our churches,” Aksoy said, adding: “The restoration of the Armenian Catholic church and the Protestant church belonging to the General Directorate of Foundations has started."

The Sur district, parts of which are a UNESCO World Heritage site, suffered during clashes between the Turkish army and the PKK terrorist organization.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU, resumed attacks in July 2015.

Since then, more than 600 security personnel have been martyred and more than 7,000 PKK terrorists killed.