Turkey detains 110 pro-Kurdish suspects ahead of vote

Turkey on Tuesday detained at least 110 pro-Kurdish activists, journalists and lawyers in raids conducted just three weeks before a knife-edge vote that could extend President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s two-decade rule.

Turkey on Tuesday detained at least 110 pro-Kurdish activists, journalists and lawyers in raids conducted just three weeks before a knife-edge vote that could extend President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's two-decade rule.

Police said their "counter-terror" operation was conducted simultaneously in 21 provinces, including Diyarbakir, the Kurdish minority's unofficial capital in Turkey.

State media said police held people suspected of financing the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) or roping new members into the outlawed group.

The PKK has been proscribed as a terrorist organisation by Ankara and its Western allies for waging a decades-long armed struggle for greater autonomy in Turkey's southeast.

The Anadolu state news agency said the detained included people suspected of fomenting nearly 60 street protests since 2017.

The operation also involved suspects who allegedly transferred money to the PKK from municipalities held by the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).

The Diyarbakir bar association said the number of detentions could be as high as 150.