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Official: Turkey's Kurdish Party Headquarters Attacked, no Casualties

Unidentified assailants on Saturday opened fire at Turkey's main Kurdish party headquarters in the capital Ankara, with no casualties reported, an official from the party said.

"The attackers fired with pump rifles at the party headquarters at 04:05 am from a passing car," an official from the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) told Agence France Presse on condition of anonymity.

Security guards protecting the building responded and the assailants ran away, according to the official, who added that there were no casualties.

Another HDP lawmaker, Sirri Sureyya Onder, called the attack a "provocation" ahead of June 7 legislative elections. 

"Provocation is continuing. We will not yield," he wrote on Twitter.

Tensions are running high as Turkey's key legislative elections draw near. In a tight battle, the HDP is seeking to win over 10 percent of the vote to qualify for direct representation in parliament.

Should it succeed, this could wreck the plans of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to win a constitutional majority to change the constitution and create a presidential system.

Source: Agence France Presse


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