Three Kurdish women activists killed in Paris

Protesters gather outside a Kurdish building after three women have been shot dead.

16:26 10 January 2013

Three Kurdish women have been killed in Paris after being shot. The victims were from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and had been based at the group’s building in Paris, France.

 

Based on reports, the bodies were discovered on Thursday, although the shootings may have taken place the day before on Wednesday.

 

The women have been named as Leyla Soylemez, Fidan Dogan, aged 32, and a founder of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, Sakine Cansiz.

 

The Kurdish party are a group who strive for independence from Turkey. Following the news, protestors have now gathered outside the building in Paris.

 

There are some claims that the incident may have been politically instigated, although it is uncertain what the motive was for the killings.

 

A spokesperson for the French Kurdish Associations Federation told Firat News Agency: “A couple of colleagues saw blood stains at the door. When they broke the door open and entered they saw the three women had been executed.”

 

Some sources have said that the weapon may have had a silencer attached to it.

 

Many thousands of lives have been lost over the last two decades because of the strife between the Kurdistan Workers' Party and the Turkish state.