Speaking at an unscheduled press conference just before midnight, governor Ala said that one of the deaths occurred while the person was escaping the scene of the clashes and another in a traffic accident. The riots came after the funeral of four members of the terrorist group the PKK, killed in clashes with security forces on the weekend.

At least 250 people were injured during the series of running clashes in the city Wednesday, though only one was listed as being in a critical condition, the governor said, adding that 200 people had een detained by the security forces.

Ala said that demonstrations were started by a crowd of 2,500 to three thousand, mainly consisting of children.

On Tuesday, 42 people were injured in a protest and most businesses in the city did not open their doors or closed for the day after rumours of further demonstrations.

The mayor of Diyarbakir, Osman Baydemir, called for members of the public to return home and to use common sense. Baydemir stressed that he did not want to see any further deaths after his visit to the governor office.

Security measures in Diyarbakir have been stepped up, with reinforcements for the local gendarme being sent from the provinces of Mardin, Batman, Elazıg, Sanliurfa and Malatya are sent to Diyarbakir.

Local authorities are conducting an investigation into the damage caused to businesses in the city during the unrest.

Parliamentary deputies from Diyarbakir from both the ruling Justice and Development Party and the opposition parties issued a joint statement criticising the incidents and calling on all political parties and NGOs to call for common sense among the public.

Interior Minister Abdulkadir Aksu said that of the 42 people injured in Tuesday’s clashes, 36 were security forces members. Foreign ministry spokesman Namik Tan said that there were looking into a possible link between Roj TV and the incidents. He also repeated that Ankara had requested the closing down of Roj TV, which broadcasts from Denmark.

Main opposition leader Deniz Baykal blamed the government for not understanding the scale of the incidents. He said that the government had the incorrect attitude of watching the protests where slogans supporting the PKK were chanted and posters backing imprisoned PPK leader Abdullah Ocalan were unfurled.