UPDATE - Anti-PKK sit-in protest continues to grow in SE Turkey

UPDATES WITH ANOTHER FAMILY JOINING PROTEST

By Bestami Bodruk

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (AA) – Two more families joined the months-long sit-in protest against the PKK terror group in southeastern Turkey on Wednesday.

Families of children abducted or forcibly recruited by the PKK terror group have been protesting for more than a year in the Diyarbakir province, calling on their children to lay down arms and surrender to authorities.

The protest outside the office of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), which the government accuses of having links to the PKK, began on Sept. 3, 2019, when three mothers said PKK terrorists had forcibly recruited their children. It has been growing for over 527 days.

Nihari Turan, a woman from eastern province Hakkari, joined the protest with her son Fahri, as her daughter Viyan was abducted by PKK seven years ago when she was only 12 years old.

"I never heard from her [Viyan] ever since the abduction. I terribly miss her", Turan said.

Fahri called on her sister to lay down arms and surrender to Turkish security forces.

Ergin Atmeca, a resident of the southeastern Batman province, also joined the protest on Wednesday. Atmeca's brother, a university student, was abducted three years ago when he was 19.

"My brother came to Batman [province] for holidays. The HDP took him to the mountains. HDP is responsible for this. I will not leave this tent until my brother returns," he said, adding that his mother fell ill.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

* Writing by Ahmet Gencturk and Gozde Bayar