European Kurds protest Paris killings

In Paris, thousands of French and European Kurds marched through the city to express anger over two killings separated by nearly a decade. On Jan. 9, 2013, three Kurdish women were shot dead at the Kurdistan Information Bureau in Paris. Just two weeks ago, on Dec. 23, three Kurds were killed and three others were injured in a shooting outside a Kurdish cultural center in Paris. Today’s march was peaceful compared to other protests following the Dec. 23 attack.

Why are the past killings significant? While the main suspect of the 2013 case died before trial, the suspect in the recent shootings said he hated non-Europeans and has been charged with racially-motivated murder. Some protesters believe the past killings were carried out by Turkey. One of the women killed in 2013 had helped found the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which the U.S. and E.U. consider a terrorist group. Kurdish militants affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party have fought with Turkey since 1984.

Dig Deeper: Listen to Josh Shumacher’s report on The World and Everything in It podcast about the Kurdistan Workers’ Party.