Turkey: Rebels kidnap 10 civilians

Ankara, 25 May (AKI) - Turkish insurgents have kidnapped 10 civilians in southern Turkey, according to news reports.

The Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) separatist rebels late Thursday broke into two homes in Diyarbakir province, kidnapping nine men and a woman, Turkey's Cihan news agency reported.

The victims' families were threatened with death if they reported the abductions, the report said.

Turkey's 28-year-fight with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has claimed around 40,000 lives. The group is designated as a terrorist organisation by the United States and European Union.

The PKK in the 1990s changed its aim, saying it would accept more autonomy for Kurds rather than independence.