Turkey opposition leader attacked at soldier’s funeral

ISTANBUL, Turkey – The leader of Turkey’s main opposition party was attacked on Sunday, April 21, at a funeral for a soldier killed in fighting against Kurdish militants, a state news agency and his party said. 

Republican People’s Party (CHP) chief Kemal Kilicdaroglu was taken to a nearby house by security forces for his protection, Anadolu state news agency said.

Video of the incident on social media showed a mob pushing and shoving around Kilicdaroglu as he makes his way through the crowd.

His party confirmed Kilicdaroglu had been attacked, but it was not immediately clear if he had been injured.

The group first protested against Kilicdaroglu presence at the funeral in the Cubuk district of the capital Ankara and then attacked him with blows, Anadolu said.

The Ankara governor’s office said in a statement: “Legal action has been launched against the culprits of the incident.”

The CHP last month won Ankara and Istanbul mayors’ offices in local elections in a setback for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling party.

Erodgan’s AKP is appealing for a rerun of the Istanbul election citing irregularities in the very tight race against the CHP candidate Ekrem Imamoglu.

Election authorites last week granted Imamoglu his mandate after carrying out a limited recount that showed he had won the city by a very slim margin of around 13,000 votes. – Rappler.com