Turkish troops kill Kurdish protester

A 20-year-old man was killed and at least seven others injured as protesters in Turkey's Kurdish-populated south-east refused to stay off the streets during the sixth consecutive day of anti-state rioting.

It is the worst urban violence in the region in a decade, reviving bitter memories of the Kurdish rebellion that has claimed more than 37,000 lives.

Policemen who said they hadn't slept for days stood nervously on guard at street corners in Kiziltepe, a south-eastern town home to much of the violence. Outside the main hospital, a security officer, his face covered with a black balaclava, brandished a grenade launcher and an M-16 rifle, apparently to dissuade family members of any of the injured from causing more trouble.

Hospital officials would not say how the 20-year-old was killed and others injured. Local Kurdish officials said they were shot.

The death brings to nine the number of people killed in a week of rioting set off by funerals for 14 pro-autonomy Kurds killed by Turkish troops. Thousands of protesters have attacked police, banks and government offices since.AP