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Third protestor dies after Kurdish unrest in Turkey: report

ANKARA, April 11, 2008 (AFP) - A protestor injured in violent Kurdish demonstrations in southeast Turkey last month died in hospital Friday, bringing the death toll from the unrest to three, the Anatolia news agency reported.

The 37-year-old man was injured during demonstrations in the town of Yuksekova on March 23, where one of the two other victims had died, Anatolia said.

Clashes between protestors and the police erupted in several cities across Turkey after celebrations to mark March 21 or Newroz Day, the Kurdish New Year, degenerated into violent demonstrations in favour of separatist Kurdish rebels fighting the government.

Anatolia did not say what injuries the latest victim had suffered. The other two men died of bullet wounds, according to hospital sources.

Turkey's southeast has been the theatre of fighting and violence since 1984 when the Kurdistan Workers' Party, listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community, took up arms for self-rule in the Kurdish-majority region.

The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives.