One Killed in Turkey Clashes as Post-Election Unrest Continues

One person was killed and at least nine others were wounded in clashes between Kurdish militants and authorities in two of Turkey's southeastern provinces on Monday as unrest continues following the ruling AK party's election win earlier in November.

A 45-year-old taxi driver was killed and five people, including a police officer, were wounded in clashes between Turkish security forces and militants in the southeastern town of Silvan in the province of Diyarbakir.

Silvan is situated approximately 50 miles (80km) east of Diyarbakir, the largest city in the majority-Kurdish southeast of Turkey. The town has been placed under a curfew for a week by Turkish police because of clashes with members of the youth wing of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), known as the Patriotic Revolutionist Youth Movement (YDG-H).

In the southeastern province of Mardin, three police officers and a child were wounded in clashes between the YDG-H and authorities as they attempted to open roads closed by the militants, Turkey's Hurriyet News website reported.

The AK party, led by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, regained its parliamentary majority with 49.4 percent of the vote in the election that was called after a ruling coalition failed to form following June's general elections. The results of the election on November 1 led to protests in the streets of Diyarbakir. Police fired tear gas at protesters.

The unrest between Turkey's Kurdish population and the ruling authorities threatened to disrupt the election but the PKK announced a ceasefire against the Turkish military ahead of the vote. Following the AKP's victory, the PKK said it would be "resuming activities" in the country's southeast.

After a two-year ceasefire between the Turkish army and the PKK collapsed in July, the security situation deteriorated and resulted in a number of deadly incidents perpetrated by both parties. Clashes between Kurdish militants and Turkish authorities also intensified after a suicide bomber linked to the Syria-based militant group Islamic State (ISIS) killed 32 people in the border town of Suruc in July.

Kurdish militants held the Turkish government responsible for the bombing while Ankara launched raids against both suspected ISIS members operating within Turkey and Kurds linked to the PKK, which the U.S. and the EU consider a terrorist group. Last week, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey would fight every militant until they were all "liquidated."

The raids against suspected ISIS members have continued in the months following the Suruc bombing. On Sunday, Turkish authorities detained 38 foreign nationals in the southern Turkish province of Adana on suspicion of attempting to join ISIS in Syria, Hurriyet reported. Of the 38, 15 were children and 10 were women.

The PKK has waged an insurgency against Turkish authorities since 1984, a conflict that has left almost 40,000 people dead. The Kurdish group seeks self-determination for the Kurds in Turkey.