Turkey dismisses four more pro-Kurdish mayors over alleged terror ties

Istanbul: Four more mayors from Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party were dismissed on Saturday on suspicion of links with outlawed Kurdish rebels and were replaced by government-appointed trustees, the official Anadolu news agency reported.

The mayor of Suruc in the Sanliurfa province and three mayors from Mazidagi, Savur and Derik districts in the Mardin province were suspended, Anadolu said.

Ankara accuses the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) -- the country's third-largest party -- of links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has fought a bloody insurgency against the state since 1984.

In recent months, the government has cracked down on the HDP -- the only party in parliament that criticised Turkey's offensive against Kurdish militants in northern Syria in October, branding it an "invasion."

With the latest dismissals, the number of HDP mayors suspended by the government has reached 24.