March 24, 2008

ANKARA, Turkey —" Police broke up a protest Monday by hundreds of demonstrators in a fifth straight day of clashes with Kurds in southeastern Turkey.

Riot police fired tear gas to disperse protesters in Yuksekova, in Hakkari province, a day after a demonstrator was shot to death in the eastern city, said the private Dogan news agency.

Authorities denied responsibility for the death but protesters called Monday for the governor's resignation. Footage showed demonstrators, their faces covered with red scarves, throwing stones at riot police as soldiers watched from a distance.

Clashes since last Thursday, during the Kurdish spring festival of Nowruz, have left two dead and dozens injured.

A demonstrator was killed in the eastern city of Van on Saturday, and Kurds also have protested in Sanliurfa and Diyarbakir provinces in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated southeast.

On Sunday, police detained dozens of Kurdish protesters who went through the Aegean port city of Izmir smashing windows. Clashes also occurred in several other western cities.

Kurdish rebels have been fighting for autonomy in Turkey's southeast since 1984, a conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.