ANKARA, Turkey, May 5 (UPI) -- Leaders of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party in Turkey staged a hunger strike in protest of crackdowns against the party.
The Democratic Society Party, known by its Turkish acronym DTP, is allegedly linked to the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, a blacklisted group operating in parts of Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Iran.
Ahmet Turk, the DTP party chairman, led officials in waging a two-day hunger strike as government officials continue arrests targeting members of the pro-Kurdish group, Iran's Entekhab news agency reports.
His protest comes amid Iraqi claims that the Iranian military had targeted rebel outposts in their country, which Tehran claims were operated by the PKK and its affiliate Party for a Free Life in Kurdistan.
Pro-Kurdish parties beat out rivals in the ruling Justice and Development Party in local Turkish elections in March.
Turk, the DTP leader, complained Ankara was behind the attacks as part of a retaliation for the March victories. He also denied allegations his party was linked to the PKK, though many view the DTP as the political branch of the outlawed group.
Turkish authorities raided several branches of the PKK in recent weeks, arresting around 50 people and detaining dozens more.
Those arrests sparked protests in parts of Turkey as the pro-Kurdish movement gains momentum.
