Thousands of people mourned in the center of Ankara Sunday after explosions during a peace rally that killed an estimated 95 people and injured hundreds more the previous day. The people were protesting against the ongoing violence between the Kurdish militant organization, PKK and the authorities, according to The Guardian.
The police used tear gas during the mourning ceremony to stop politicians and other people from offering carnations on the two bombing sites. Some of those who were held back by authorities were Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP). Authorities prevented them from laying flowers, saying that the sites are still under investigation, according to the Associated Press.
Demirtas expressed his opinions regarding the Ankara bombings.
The crowd was chanting "We want justice" and "Erdogan is a thief and murderer" during the rally, pertaining to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. Members of the crowd brought along photos of the victims as well, USA Today reported.
Thousand rally in Turkey's capital Ankara to commemorate bombing victims https://t.co/fZljGQpHWn pic.twitter.com/mTFJDx5fDX
— AJE News (@AJENews) October 11, 2015
There is no confirmation yet as to who carried out the bombings. "This was supposed to be a peace rally. This was supposed to be about bringing Turkey together to show unity amongst the Turks and the Kurds and the other ethnic groups. This attack very much has now ripped that apart," according to Sajjan Gohel, international security director at the Asia-Pacific Foundation, CNN reported.
Suicide bombers planted in two locations are believed to be the cause of the Ankara explosions.
