Turkey will invest 10 billion lira ($3.4 billion) in rebuilding areas in the largely Kurdish south-east that have been damaged by heavy fighting between militants and the state, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Sunday.
Turkey's south-east has been hit by waves of violence following the collapse of a 2-1/2-year cease-fire between the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and the state last year.
The government has previously estimated some 6,000 buildings have been destroyed in security operations, and put the cost of replacing them at 1 billion lira ($345 million). "We are investing 10 billion lira," Yildirim said in a speech in Diyarbakir, the region's largest city. "Instead of houses destroyed by the PKK we are building beautiful houses."
He said the government would invest in seven provincial centres across the south-east, and build houses, mosques and hospitals. The government will also focus on rebuilding Diyarbakir's historic Sur district, he said. Sur's Roman-era walls are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. However, the district sustained heavy damage in fighting this year, leading to concern it may be beyond repair.
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