UPDATE - Thousands protest PKK terrorism in Belgium

ADDS PROTEST IN BERLIN

BRUSSELS (AA) - Thousands of Turks protested the PKK terrorist organization in Belgium's capital Brussels on Saturday.

According to Anadolu Agency reporters in the field, Turkish-origin protesters gathered in Schuman Square – home also to EU institutions such as the European Commission and the Council of the European Union.

During the demonstration, people carried anti-terror banners, urging the EU to stop backing terrorism.

On Thursday, sympathizers of the PKK terrorist organization also held a protest in Schuman Square with the permission of the Belgian authorities.

Belgium has been criticized in the past for failing to act against the PKK. In August, the group's supporters in Brussels were allowed to celebrate the anniversary of the terror organization's first attack; five months earlier, sympathizers set up tents outside EU buildings ahead of a Turkey-EU summit.

Meanwhile, hundreds of protesters also gathered in the German capital Berlin to denounce the PKK and its supporters.

The crowd met in Pariser Platz Square in front of the historic Brandenburg Gate.

Aside from Belgium, the PKK is also active in other EU countries such as Germany, Austria, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Greece.

The PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU – resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July last year and has been responsible for the deaths of more than 1,100 security force members and civilians, including women and children.