Turkey dismisses four pro-Kurdish mayors

ISTANBUL: Four more mayors from Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish party were dismissed on Saturday on suspicion of links with outlawed Kurdish rebels and were replaced by government-appointed trustees, the official Anadolu news agency reported.

The mayor of Suruc in the Sanliurfa province and three mayors from Mazidagi, Savur and Derik districts in the Mardin province were suspended, Anadolu said.

Ankara accuses the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) -- the country’s third-largest party -- of links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has fought a bloody insurgency against the state since 1984.