Turkey buries victims of PKK blast last week

Ankara: Turkey on Tuesday buried over a dozen victims of a massive blast in its southeast last week that killed 16 people when a truck laden with explosives by Kurdish militants planning a major attack detonated prematurely.

The initial toll from the blast outside the southeast's main city of Diyarbakir on Thursday night was far lower and Turkish authorities only confirmed Monday 13 more victims had been identified and a total of 16 people lost their lives.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday for the first time spoke about the blast, saying Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants had been trying to transfer the explosives to Diyarbakir city with the aim of killing hundreds of people.

The body parts from the victims -- described as local villagers -- were scattered over such a wide area that identification on the spot was impossible and the remains were sent to Istanbul for DNA testing.

In a sign of the gravity of the incident, the funerals in the village of Sarikamis just outside Diyarbakir were led by Interior Minister Efkan Ala and Development Minister Cevdet Yilmaz.

The coffins of the 13 victims were laid to rest side-by-side in a joint plot at the village cemetery, an AFP photographer said.

Thee were scenes of agony as the coffins were carried to the graveyard with men and women collapsing in grief and embracing the coffins in a final farewell.

- 'Why is world silent?' -

Erdogan said the PKK militants had been seeking to move the consignment of explosives to Diyarbakir when it started being followed by suspicious Sarikamis villagers. The PKK militants then opened fire and detonated the truck, he said.

"We are talking now about an attack plot by a terrorist organisation seeking to assassinate hundreds of innocent people and 16 citizens who paid with their lives by preventing it," he said.

He asked why the world was silent about the incident. "This should prompt firm condemnations from around the world," said Erdogan.

On the night of the incident, Turkish authorities said four "bombmakers" from the outlawed PKK were killed when the truck filled with explosives detonated.

But villagers said the death toll had been far higher from a gigantic blast that was felt in Diyarbakir city and left a wide crater in the ground.

Official statements this week said three victims were buried on May 13, making the total death toll 16, and there has been no further mention of fatalities among the PKK.

Erdogan indicated that the PKK militants escaped in a car while detonating the explosives-laden truck.

In a statement, the PKK acknowledged the incident, claiming the vehicle exploded when anti-PKK villagers opened fire on it. The group said the explosives were meant to be transferred to another location and not detonated.

Turkey has been waging an offensive against the PKK after the collapse in 2015 of a two-year ceasefire declared by the group.

Hundreds of members of the Turkish security forces have been killed in attacks since then although civilian deaths in the conflict have rarely been confirmed.

More than 40,000 people have been killed since the PKK took up arms in 1984 demanding a homeland for Turkey's biggest minority.

Since then, the group has pared back its demands to focus on cultural rights and a measure of autonomy.