Police intervened in marches held in Diyarbakır, Van, and Batman to protest attacks on Northern and Eastern Syria. In Van, police intervened with pressurized water and pepper spray, citing a governor’s ban, against a march organized at the call of the Labor and Democracy Platform. Approximately 100 people, including Van Metropolitan Municipality Co-Mayors Abdullah Zeydan and Neslihan Şedal, as well as representatives of political parties and professional organizations, were beaten and detained. In Diyarbakır, a march attended by DBP and DEM Party leaders was blocked by a police cordon, and many people were beaten and detained. In Batman, a group attempting to march was intervened against, and many people, including DBP leaders, were detained. The DEM Party held its weekly Turkish Grand National Assembly group meeting in the Nusaybin district of Mardin. Police intervened against a group attempting to march to the border in Nusaybin.
January 19, 2026
Artı Gerçek/BBC Turkish