Arrests and injuries at Turkish demo in Berlin

Eight protesters were in custody in Berlin on Monday after a rally by Turks and Kurds turned violent, police said. Eighteen policemen were injured when clashes erupted on the fringe of Sunday afternoon's protest in the Berlin suburb of Kreuzberg. A police spokeswoman said 15 protesters were detained, but seven were released after questioning. The spontaneous demonstration was called to express solidarity between Kurds and Turks, following the recent attacks by Iran-based Kurdish insurgents against targets in southern Turkey. Police said the relatively peaceful protest turned violent when Turkish nationalists joined in and clashed with supporters of the outlawed Kurdish workers Party PKK. "The conflict in the south of Turkey has spilled over to Berlin," one senior police officer told the Berlin radio station RBB. Nearly 80 people have died in fighting between the PKK and the Turkish military in the past week, amid rising speculation of a Turkish incursion into northern Iraq to root out PKK militants based there. The PKK is seeking wide-ranging autonomy for the predominantly Kurdish provinces in the south of Turkey. dpa ms mga