One Dead, Four Injured in Post-election Violence in Southeast Türkiye

People enjoy the view from the Galata Bridge, backdropped by the Suleymaniye Mosque, two days after the general elections, in Istanbul, Türkiye, 16 May 2023. (EPA)
People enjoy the view from the Galata Bridge, backdropped by the Suleymaniye Mosque, two days after the general elections, in Istanbul, Türkiye, 16 May 2023. (EPA)
TT
20

One Dead, Four Injured in Post-election Violence in Southeast Türkiye

People enjoy the view from the Galata Bridge, backdropped by the Suleymaniye Mosque, two days after the general elections, in Istanbul, Türkiye, 16 May 2023. (EPA)
People enjoy the view from the Galata Bridge, backdropped by the Suleymaniye Mosque, two days after the general elections, in Istanbul, Türkiye, 16 May 2023. (EPA)

The brother of an opposition candidate was killed and four other people injured in clashes between opponents and supporters of the newly elected ruling-party mayor of a city district in a predominantly Kurdish region of southeastern Türkiye.

Supporters of President Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party (AKP) clashed with backers of the opposition DEVA (Remedy) Party in the Pervari district of the city of Siirt on Tuesday night, following local elections on Sunday in which the opposition mostly performed well across Türkiye.

In the district, the AKP candidate for mayor won with 52% of the vote, while the DEVA candidate placed second with 40%.

The governor's office said five people had been hurt in the clashes, one of whom died of his wounds. The DEVA deputy chairman Mehmet Emin Ekmen identified the person who died as the brother of the party's candidate.

DEVA was one of six parties in the opposition alliance before May 2023 general elections when Erdogan secured another 5-year mandate and his ruling alliance a parliamentary majority.

Police are investigating the incident and six people were detained, the Siirt governor's office said, adding that it had imposed a curfew in Pervari district until Thursday morning for security reasons.

Protests also spread elsewhere in Türkiye's southeastern provinces on Tuesday night, after Turkish authorities prevented the newly elected mayor from the pro-Kurdish DEM party taking up his post in the city of Van, and announced a re-run vote in Sanilurfa's Hilvan district where AKP lost, Reuters reported.

Footage showed protesters in Batman province firing firecrackers at police, who sprayed them with water cannons, while scores of security personnel were stationed around Hakkari city, where protests also took hold.



White House Withdraws Nomination for US Hostage Envoy

FILE PHOTO: Adam Boehler, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, addresses the daily coronavirus task force briefing when he was CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, US, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Adam Boehler, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, addresses the daily coronavirus task force briefing when he was CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, US, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo/File Photo
TT
20

White House Withdraws Nomination for US Hostage Envoy

FILE PHOTO: Adam Boehler, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, addresses the daily coronavirus task force briefing when he was CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, US, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Adam Boehler, US President Donald Trump's Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, addresses the daily coronavirus task force briefing when he was CEO of the US International Development Finance Corporation, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington, US, April 14, 2020. REUTERS/Leah Millis/File Photo/File Photo

The Trump administration has withdrawn the nomination of Adam Boehler to serve as special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, the White House said on Saturday.
Boehler, who has been working to secure the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, will continue hostage-related work as a so-called "special government employee," a position that would not need Senate confirmation.
"Adam Boehler will continue to serve President Trump as a special government employee focused on hostage negotiations," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said in a statement.
"Adam played a critical role in negotiating the return of Marc Fogel from Russia. He will continue this important work to bring wrongfully detained individuals around the world home."
A White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Boehler withdrew his nomination to avoid divesting from his investment company. The move was unrelated to the controversy sparked by his discussions with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
"He still has the utmost confidence of President Trump," said the official.
"This gives me the best ability to help Americans held abroad as well as work across agencies to achieve President Trump’s objectives," Boehler told Reuters in a brief statement.
Boehler recently held direct meetings with Hamas on the release of hostages in Gaza. The discussions broke with a decades-old policy by Washington against negotiating with groups that the US brands as terrorist organizations.
The talks angered some Senate Republicans and some Israeli leaders. According to Axios, Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer expressed his displeasure to Boehler in a tense phone call last week.