Late last year, Turkish authorities fighting militants of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) imposed a 24-hour curfew on several predominantly Kurdish cities in southeastern Turkey, then sent in troops and airstrikes. The Turkish government has now declared their operation a success, and has relaxed the curfew in some cities. One such city, Cizre, is home to about 130,000 residents, many of whom were allowed back home for the first time in months, discovering widespread destruction resulting from the military operation. Turkish armed forces have been battling PKK rebels in the area for decades, but have stepped up their actions in recent months—while at the same time, bombing other Kurdish groups and ISIS militants in nearby Syria. Currently, Turkey, ISIS, and the PKK are all fighting each other in a hostile triangle at the meeting of the borders of Turkey, Syria, and Iraq.
Kurdish Residents Return to Their Devastated City in Southeast Turkey
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Read moreA man looks out at ruined houses after returning to Cizre, Turkey, on March 2, 2016. #
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Read moreResidents walk toward the city center of Cizre on March 2, 2016. #
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Read moreA woman looks at a building damaged during the security operations and clashes between Turkish security forces and Kurdish militants in Cizre on March 2, 2016. #
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Read moreA boy holds a statuette in his ruined house on March 2, 2016, in Cizre, Turkey. #
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Read moreDamaged buildings photographed in Cizre on March 2, 2016, following heavy fighting between government troops and Kurdish fighters. #
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Read moreA cat walks in the rubble of destroyed houses on March 2, 2016, in Cizre. #
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Read moreA woman reacts while walking among the ruins of damaged buildings following heavy fighting in Cizre on on March 2, 2016. #
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Read morePeople walk through ruined houses in Cizre on March 2, 2016. #
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Read morePeople walk past ruined houses and shops in Cizre on March 2, 2016. #
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Read moreA girl carries a baby as she walks in the debris of buildings in Cizre on March 2, 2016. #
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Read moreA sitting room with a TV photographed in a destroyed house in Cizre on March 2, 2016. #
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Read moreA picture of a girl sits on the ground in a ruined house in Cizre on March 2, 2016. #
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Read moreA woman walks among the debris of ruined houses and buildings in Cizre on March 2, 2016. #
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Read morePeople walk past ruined buildings in Cizre, Turkey, on March 2, 2016. #
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Read moreA man looks in despair at his ruined house in Cizre on March 2, 2016. #
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Read moreRuined houses and buildings in Cizre on March 2, 2016. #
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Read moreA man sits among the debris of his destroyed house in Cizre on March 2, 2016. #
Mahmut Bozarslan / AP -
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Read morePeople walk over the rubble of destroyed houses and shops in Cizre on March 2, 2016. #
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Read moreA Turkish soldier gestures while standing on a hill overlooking damaged buildings following heavy fighting between government troops and Kurdish fighters in the Kurdish town of Cizre, in southeastern Turkey on March 2, 2016. #
Yasin Akgul / AFP / Getty -
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