DIYARBAKIR, Turkey -- Violence and a police crackdown marked the Kurdish New Year in Turkey on Sunday, with authorities arresting 1,500 people across the country and putting the Kurdish-dominated southeast under a virtual state of siege.
Protests timed to the Kurdish holiday injured Kurdish demonstrators and at least five policemen, including two officers shot when protesters opened fire on police in Istanbul.Tension has already been running high in Turkey after a surge of violent attacks blamed on Kurdish rebels seeking to avenge the Feb. 15 capture of their leader, Abdullah Ocalan.
The Kurdish New Year traditionally has been the occasion for rioting that has killed dozens in past years in the southeast.
In the main southeastern city of Diyarbakir, scores of armored personnel carriers moved into Kurdish neighborhoods before most residents awoke.
Hundreds of police and soldiers fanned out across the city, enforcing a ban on observances of the holiday. Only one incident was reported there during the day: Kurds smashed the windows of a bank while running from police.
In Istanbul, demonstrators in a Kurdish neighborhood unleashed a barrage of bullets and stones at police, shooting two officers and wounding three others with rocks, the Anatolia news agency said. The independent Human Rights Association said two protesters were wounded in the ensuing shootout.
Earlier, police dispersed stone-throwing protesters by firing into the air in an open-air cattle market. A 16-year-old boy was shot twice and in serious condition, human rights activists said, adding that several others were injured when police charged the demonstrators.
Police said 725 people were detained in Istanbul alone; activists put the number detained there at 2,000.
At least 1,500 people were taken into custody throughout the country, after clashes erupted in Izmir, Kayseri, Adana and Gaziantep.
Despite the heavy police and military presence in Diyarbakir, many feared wholesale violence would break out after sunset.
Security forces searched suspected vehicles and people in the region, which has been sealed off to foreign reporters since Ocalan's capture.