Pro-Kurdish leader says he escaped assassination attempt

Turkey’s pro-Kurdish opposition leader Selahattin Demirtas has reportedly escaped an assassination attempt after his car was hit by a bullet, his party spokesman said. The HDP co-chairman was travelling in his official vehicle in the south-eastern province of Diyarbakir when the rear window of the bulletproof car was hit by a single bullet. Demirtas, also dubbed the “Kurdish Obama” for his charismatic political skills, told Firat news agency that he noted the bullet dent only after he got out of the car.

A bullet mark was found at head level of the rear window of the official vehicle.

Opposition leader Selahattin Demirtas

Turkish security authorities, however, say there was no attempt on his life. The statement said Demirtaş had been given police protection throughout his stay in Diyarbakır and during this time “no kind of attack against him or against his vehicle has been realised”. A charismatic, rising politician, Demirtas led the HDP in June elections to pass the threshold and enter Turkish parliament at expense of the ruling AKP, which lost its 13-year majority.

World Kurdish leader