Turkish authorities on Monday removed the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) mayors of Diyarbakır, Mardin and Van on terrorism charges and replaced them with appointees.

The municipality's Twitter account also unfollowed the city’s ousted HDP co-mayors, Bedia Ozgokce Ertan and Mustafa Avci, instead following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and interior minister Suleyman Soylu, Cumhuriyet said.

Following the resumption of conflict between the Turkish state and Kurdish militants in 2015, the Turkish government removed at least 93 local administrations, allegedly for links to the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The PKK launched an armed separatist insurrection in 1984, but it has since changed its aims to focus on the struggle for Kurdish rights. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) began a peace process with the outlawed group in 2013, but a crackdown on the Kurdish political movement has intensified since this broke down in 2015.

The government-appointed administrators in predominantly Kurdish regions have reportedly taken measures to reverse previous positive steps taken by the AKP towards recognizing the Kurdish identity shared by millions of Turkish citizens.

These measures included shutting down organizations concerned with Kurdish language and culture, removing Kurdish names from public parks and streets, and destroying Kurdish cultural monuments.

Reporter’s code: 50101