The 2014 Kobanî protests in Turkey were large-scale rallies by pro-People's Defense Units (YPG) protestors in Turkey which occurred in autumn 2014, as a spillover of the crisis in Kobanî. Large demonstrations unfolded in Turkey, and quickly descended into violence between protesters and the Turkish police. Several military incidents between Turkish forces and militants of the Youth Wing of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in south-eastern Turkey contributed to the escalation. Protests then spread to various cities in Turkey. Protesters were met with tear gas and water cannons, and initially 12 people were killed. A total of 31 people were killed in subsequent protesting up to 14 October.
A building in Diyarbakır that was burned during the protests
Selahattin Demirtaş is a Turkish politician and author of Kurdish origin. He was the co-leader of the left-wing pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), serving alongside Figen Yüksekdağ from 2014 to 2018. Selahattin Demirtaş announced that he left politics after the May 2023 elections.
Selahattin Demirtaş
Demirtaş meeting with the President of the European Parliament, Martin Schulz in 2013
Figen Yüksekdağ and Selahattin Demirtaş, November 2015 Turkish general election
Demirtas in Cizre