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Kurdish PKK co-founder Sakine Cansiz shot dead in Paris | Kurdish PKK co-founder Sakine Cansiz shot dead in Paris |
(about 1 hour later) | |
Three Kurdish women activists - including a co-founder of the militant separatist PKK - have been found dead with gunshot wounds in a Kurdish information centre in Paris. | |
The bodies of Sakine Cansiz and two others were found on Thursday. | The bodies of Sakine Cansiz and two others were found on Thursday. |
French Interior Minister Manuel Valls called the killings "intolerable". | French Interior Minister Manuel Valls called the killings "intolerable". |
The motive for the shootings is unclear. Some 40,000 people have died in the 25-year conflict between the Turkish state and the PKK. | The motive for the shootings is unclear. Some 40,000 people have died in the 25-year conflict between the Turkish state and the PKK. |
However, Turkey has recently begun talks with the jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, with the aim of persuading the group to disarm. | However, Turkey has recently begun talks with the jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, with the aim of persuading the group to disarm. |
Locked doors | Locked doors |
The three women were last seen inside the information centre of the Kurdish institute on Wednesday afternoon. A member of the Kurdish community tried to visit the centre but found the doors were locked. | The three women were last seen inside the information centre of the Kurdish institute on Wednesday afternoon. A member of the Kurdish community tried to visit the centre but found the doors were locked. |
Their bodies - all three bearing gunshot wounds - were found in the early hours on Thursday. | |
Along with Sakine Cansiz, a second woman has been named as Fidan Dogan, 32, who worked in the information centre. She was also the Paris representative of the Brussels-based Kurdistan National Congress. | |
The third, named as Leyla Soylemez, was a young activist. | The third, named as Leyla Soylemez, was a young activist. |
Members of the Kurdish community demonstrated outside the information centre as Mr Valls arrived. | Members of the Kurdish community demonstrated outside the information centre as Mr Valls arrived. |
The three women had "undoubtedly" been executed, Mr Valls said, adding that the French authorities were determined to "shed light on this act". | The three women had "undoubtedly" been executed, Mr Valls said, adding that the French authorities were determined to "shed light on this act". |
"In this neighbourhood, in this Kurdish information centre, in the 10th arrondissement [district] where many Kurds live, I also came to express my sympathy to the relatives and close friends of these three women," he said. | "In this neighbourhood, in this Kurdish information centre, in the 10th arrondissement [district] where many Kurds live, I also came to express my sympathy to the relatives and close friends of these three women," he said. |
A representative of the Federation of Kurdish Assocations in France (Feyka), Leon Edart, told the French BFM news channel that there were no CCTV cameras in the office. | A representative of the Federation of Kurdish Assocations in France (Feyka), Leon Edart, told the French BFM news channel that there were no CCTV cameras in the office. |
The PKK took up arms in 1984, and demands greater autonomy for Turkey's Kurds, who are thought to comprise up to 20% of the population. | |
It is regarded by Turkey, the US and European Union as a terrorist organisation, because of its attacks on Turkish security forces and civilians. | |
In 2013 it stepped up its attacks, leading to the fiercest fighting in decades, but violence has subsided during the winter. |