Death toll rises to four in SE Turkey clashes

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey, Mar 31 (Reuters) An eight-year-old child died overnight of injuries suffered during clashes between Kurdish protesters and police in Turkey's troubled southeast, security forces said today, bringing the death toll to four. ''The child died in hospital,'' said an official in Diyarbakir, the largest city of the mainly Kurdish region which has been hit by violent protests since Tuesday.

Another boy and a man were shot dead during clashes on Wednesday. A second man was crushed under a police armoured car, witnesses said. An investigation into those deaths has begun.

The state Anatolian news agency said police had arrested 48 people so far after detaining more than 200. At least 250 people have been wounded in the clashes.

There were no reports of fresh demonstrations today. CNN Turk television said on its Web site that small protests erupted overnight in a district of Istanbul, Turkey's largest city.

Istanbul is far from the southeast but is home to a large Kurdish population.

Yesterday, thousands of protesters sympathetic to Kurdish guerrillas lobbed stones and Molotov cocktails at police in Diyarbakir for the third successive day. Shops and offices remained shut.

Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has appealed for calm and denied opposition and media claims that the government has lost control of the situation.

''Our people should feel at peace, they will be safe. Security forces will do what is necessary,'' he said yesterday evening after returning to Ankara from a foreign trip.

Reuters PV RS1332