According to a Reuters report, Turkish police have detained 110 people over alleged militant ties in the city of Diyarbakir , the largest city in mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey. The raid targeted people across 21 provinces and was focused on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group.

Among those detained are politicians, lawyers, journalists, and artists, according to a statement by Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) lawmaker Tayip Temel on Twitter. He accused the government of "resorting to detention operations again" out of fear of losing power on the eve of the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.

The suspects are accused of providing financing, recruiting, and spreading propaganda for the PKK, which is designated as a terrorist group by Turkey and several Western states. The operation came less than three weeks before the election, which represents a major electoral challenge for President Tayyip Erdogan and his AK Party, which has been in power since 2002.

The HDP, the third biggest party in parliament, faces a potential ban in a constitutional court case in which it is accused of PKK connections, but it denies the accusations. The party's parliamentary candidates are running under the umbrella of the small Green Left Party.