Ankara: At least 86 people were killed on Saturday when two explosions ripped through groups of leftist and pro- Kurdish activists gathering for an anti-government peace rally in the Turkish capital Ankara.
The attack, near Ankara’s main train station, was the deadliest in the city’s history and has ratcheted up tensions ahead of Turkey’s November 1 snap elections, which were already riding high amid the government’s offensive on Kurdish militants.
Bodies of the slain activists were seen strewn across the ground after the blasts, with the banners they had been holding lying next to them for the “Work, Peace and Democracy” rally. Sixty-two people died at the scene of the blasts and 24 more then succumbed to their wounds in hospital, Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu told reporters in Ankara.
He said another 186 people had been injured in the attack. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan denounced the “heinous attack”, saying it was aimed at “our unity and our country’s peace.”
A Turkish government official told AFP that the authorities “suspect that there is a terrorist connection,” without giving further details. Reports said they were investigating if a suicide bomber was involved.
There were scenes of chaos after the blasts, as ambulances raced to get to the wounded and police cordoned off the area around the train station. “We heard one huge blast and then one smaller explosion and then there was a great movement and panic. Then we saw corpses around the station,” said Ahmet Onen, 52.
“A demonstration that was to promote peace has turned into a massacre, I don’t understand this,” he said, sobbing.
Turkish police fired in the air to disperse demonstrators angered by the deaths of their fellow activists from the scene, an AFP correspondent reported.
Amateur footage broadcast by NTV television showed smiling activists holding hands and dancing and then suddenly falling to the ground as a huge explosion went off behind them. Initial reports spoke of a single explosion but Turkish media said later there had been two separate blasts in short sequence.
Reports said that hundreds of people in Ankara had rushed to hospital to donate blood for the victims. (AFP)
