Major Explosion at Police Headquarters in Diyarbakir Leaves Several Injured

On Tuesday, it was reported that a large explosion occurred at the riot police headquarters in the Kurdish city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, resulting in at least four injuries and one person still trapped under the rubble. The condition of one of the injured is reported to be critical. According to AFP, the sound of the explosion was heard in several neighborhoods of the city, and a thick gray smoke rose from the explosion site, prompting multiple ambulances to rush to the scene. The explosion happened during the repair of an armored vehicle at the riot police headquarters and caused the ceiling of the repair shop to collapse. The main cause of the explosion is still unclear, and whether it was intentional or not is under investigation. This explosion occurs on the eve of a controversial referendum scheduled for Sunday in Turkey, which the majority of Kurdish groups in Turkey oppose. The subject of the referendum is the increase of powers and authorities of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkey. Last November, a large explosion in the center of Diyarbakir left eight dead and one hundred injured. Southeastern Turkey, with Diyarbakir being its largest city, has witnessed severe clashes between the government and Kurdish opposition since the summer of 2015, marking the end of a ceasefire. The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has been engaged in conflict with state forces since 1984, resulting in over 40,000 deaths. In this context, the United Nations and the European Union condemned the arrest of leaders of the Peoples' Democratic Party in Turkey.