At least two specialist sergeants were killed and many other Turkish soldiers were wounded in clashes near the district of Lice (Diyarbakýr) on Tuesday. Clashes broke out following an expansive operation Turkish military launched in Lice-Hani-Genç triangle on Diyarbakýr-Bingöl border early Monday morning.

According to local sources, which deny the statements of Diyarbakýr Governor who reported ten Kurdish guerrillas killed in clashes, two guerrillas lost their life in clashes on Tuesday.

Locals in the region who went to the clashes area last night said that Turkish army may have used chemical weapons in the air-supported operation. According to villagers who found a Kurdish scarf (pushi) of a guerrilla in the operation area, there was no blood stain on the scarf which caused headache and nausea in some who smelled it. Villagers commented the smell of the Kurdish scarf as in indication of chemical weapons that may have been used in the operation by the Turkish army.

In a statement to the press on the mentioned operation in the region, Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) Diyarbakýr co-chair Zübeyde Zümrüt said that; “If the allegations of chemical weapons use in Lice is true, this is a crime against humanity and goes against international conventions.”

Zümrüt said the new year should be the year of peace and called on mothers of Turkish soldiers to take to the streets and to ask for an end to the ongoing war in the country.

BDP also sent a delegation to the operation area to obtain information from locals about the operation and allegations.