Residents assess the damage as an eight-day curfew is lifted in the predominantly Kurdish city of Cizre in Turkey.<br /><br /> It had been cut off last Friday after the Turkish army launched an operation against Kurdish PKK militants in the area.<br /><br /> Concerns are growing over food shortages and there are conflicting reports of civilian casualties.<br /><br /> “We were terrified,” exclaimed one resident. “We didn’t have electricity. We were starving to death. We didn’t live. What on the earth did we do to deserve this? I hope God will punish you for this, Erdogan.”<br /><br /> During the curfew no outsiders were allowed to enter, prompting Kurdish activists to call the action a blockade similar to Israel’s actions in Gaza. <br /><br /> The operation in the city bordering Syria is a key part of the government’s drive to weaken the PKK in southeast Turkey and northern Iraq.<br /><br /> Fighting between Turkish forces and the PKK has intensified after a two year-long ceasefire broke down in July.
