Twin blasts at peace march in Turkey kill at least 30

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The twin explosions occurred at a venue for the rally, which was labelled "Labour, Peace, Democracy". Hundreds of people had gathered outside the train station for the demonstration to be held in the nearby Sıhhıye Square.

The explosion rips through the crowd Ankara
The explosion rips through the crowd near the central train station in AnkaraTwitter/@solhaberportali
Photos on social media show bodies lying in front of the station, at Hipodrom Street, and healthcare professionals tending to the wounded. The explosion occurred amid growing security concerns in the country, where parliamentary elections are due to be held in three weeks time.

Turkish news agency Dogan said that at least 30 people have been killed in the blasts with the death toll expected to rise. A pro-Kurdish HDP rally in the city of Diyarbakir was bombed in June this year, ahead of elections.



Only two days ago a top PKK commander Cemil Bayik based in Iraq declared in an interview that the PKK were ready for a ceasefire. And Writing in the Kurdish newspaper ?zg?r G?ndem this week, senior PKK figure aligned with PKK umbrella group KCK Bese Hozat seemed to accept that a ceasefire was a way of bolstering the political chances of the HDP ahead of the elections.


"The freedom movement will take a historic stance again to make a greater contribution to the HDP's great victory on Nov. 1," wrote Hozat, according to Reuters. The PKK has been known to agree to ceasefires in the past often with a view to engaging in negotiations with Turkish authorities.

Many Kurds want to establish their own homeland, linking up with Kurds in Turkey, Iraq and Syria. Recently a ceasefire between the Kurd groups and Turkish state broke down after two years, with Turkey bombing PKK positions and the PKK launching attacks on Turkish forces.