Thousands of Kurds from around Europe demonstrate over killings in Paris
- Buses from Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium transported Kurdish activists to the start of the march and organisers said 25,000 joined the rally
- The demonstration marked the 10th anniversary of the killings of Sakine Cansiz, Fidan Dogan, Leyla Saylemez and three people killed in Paris two weeks ago
Thousands of Kurds from around France and Europe marched through Paris on Saturday to show their anger over the unresolved killing of three Kurdish women activists in the French capital 10 years ago.
The marchers are also mourning three people killed outside a Kurdish cultural centre in Paris two weeks ago in what prosecutors called a racist attack.
The organisers said more than 25,000 people from all over Europe had joined the rally.
Escorted by police, about a dozen buses from Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Belgium carried Kurdish activists to the start of the march, near the Gare du Nord railway station in northern Paris. The demonstration was timed to mark the 10th anniversary of the killings of Sakine Cansiz, Fidan Dogan and Leyla Saylemez on January 9, 2013.
Cansiz was a founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party or PKK, which Turkey, the United States and the European Union consider a terrorist group.
The suspected attacker, a Turkish citizen, died in French custody before the case reached trial. Turkish officials suggested at the time that the killings may have been part of an internal feud among Kurdish activists or an attempt to derail peace talks.