The young man was killed in Bismil on Wednesday, near the regional capital Diyarbakir, as street protests flared all over the region after prominent Kurds were barred from running in June elections.

The bullet that killed 26-year-old Ibrahim Oruc entered his body through his left arm and emerged through his chest, said the autopsy report, a copy of which was seen by AFP.

There was no official information on who had fired the round, but witnesses had said security forces fired first plastic bullets and then live rounds against the demonstrators.

Oruc died when the police responded to an "intensive" hail of petrol bombs, firecrackers and stones from a crowd of some 800 people, the local governor had said.

Meanwhile, three Kurdish militants of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) were killed in clashes with the army in a rural area of Kahramanmaras province in southeast Turkey, news channel NTV reported.

One PKK member was arrested after the clash, while the army seized explosive materials, rifles and hand grenades in the area and from the bodies of militants, Anatolia news agency reported.

Violent street protests erupted Tuesday in the southeast and many other cities after the Higher Electoral Board (YSK) disqualified seven independent candidates backed by Turkey's main Kurdish political movement, the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP).

Protests continued overnight in southern Adana province, as demonstrators hurled Molotov cocktails and firecrackers at the police, prompting a response with tear gas. Fire broke in one house and working place due to petrol bombs.

The death of the Kurdish protestor in Bismil prompted BDP leader Selahattin Demirtas to cancel a meeting with President Abdullah Gul in Ankara, which had been organised in a bid to seek a solution through dialogue.

The barring of their candidates deepened frustration among Kurds at a time when their parties already face a series of legal hurdles in the June 12 parliamentary elections and many Kurdish activists remain in jail.

The YSK was expected to reverse its decision for at least some of the candidates after it asked them to present additional documents.

The board based its decision on past convictions of the bidders and legal technicalities, but came under fire for disregarding recent amendments that favour the applicants.

Mainly Kurdish southeastern Turkey, the BDP's stronghold, has been the scene of a bloody conflict since 1984, when the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) took up arms for self-rule. The conflict has claimed some 45,000 lives.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and much of the international community, announced a unilateral truce in August and then extended it until the general elections to push for a peaceful solution to the conflict.