Silopi

Silopi
Silopi
Coordinates: 37°16′0″N 42°29′0″E / 37.26667°N 42.48333°E / 37.26667; 42.48333Coordinates: 37°16′0″N 42°29′0″E / 37.26667°N 42.48333°E / 37.26667; 42.48333
Country	Turkey
Province	Şırnak
Government
• Mayor	Emine Esmer (BDP)
• Kaymakam	Bünyamin Yıldız
Area
• District	730.29 km2 (281.97 sq mi)
Population (2012)
• Urban	84,157
• District	114,754
• District density	160/km2 (410/sq mi)
Post code	73400
Website	www.silopi.bel.tr

Silopi is a district of Şırnak Province in Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region, close to the borders of Iraq and Syria. The district, composed of Silopi center, 3 depending townships with own municipalities and 23 villages has an urban population of 73,400 (2009 census).

The Habur frontier gate, the only major crossing between Turkey and Iraq, is situated within the district of Silopi and is a decisive factor in the region's economy, both in Turkey and in beyond the Iraqi border. Queues of lorries waiting for customs and security clearance that sometimes reach a few dozens of kilometers on the motorway connecting the two countries are a common sight. The Khabur River, which carries the same name as the frontier gate, crosses in the district territory and joins the Tigris here. The Kirkuk-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline also crosses the district.

On August 7, 2015, clashes between Turkish security forces and the Kurdish militant PKK group may have killed three people. Government reports claimed "terrorists" were killed, while pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party lawmaker Faysal Sariyildiz said that the casualties were civilians and that he had seen no sign of armed militants, according to Reuters. Conflict between PKK and the Turkish government in this region has escalated since late July 2015.

On 14th December, Turkish authorities placed the city of Silopi under 'curfew', between 14 December 2015- 4 January 2016, according to Peoples' Democratic Party (Turkey), 20 people have been killed. Since July 2015, 34 people have been killed in Silopi.

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Wikipedia