11,285 teachers suspended for PKK links in Turkey

Announcement came after Turkish Prime Minister's remarks on Monday that all teachers having links with PKK will be suspended

A total of 11,285 teachers were suspended for alleged links with the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), the Turkish Education Ministry said on Thursday.

The announcement came after Prime Minister Binali Yildirim's remarks on Monday that all teachers having links to the PKK terrorist organisation will be suspended, Xinhua news agency reported.

Speaking in the city of Diyarbakir, which has been repeatedly targeted by PKK terrorist attacks, Yildirim said an estimated 14,000 teachers in the region are somehow associated with terrorism.

On Thursday, Yildirim called on provincial governors to take steps against elements in eastern and southeastern Turkish municipalities that are linked to terrorism.

At a governors' meeting in the capital Ankara, Yildirim, citing a recent statutory decree, said, "Governors have been fully authorised to do what is necessary in the case of municipalities that are linked to terrorism."

The PKK is listed as a terrorist organisation by the US, the European Union and Turkey.