Riots erupted in Cizre in October 2014 in response to the Turkish government's decision to prohibit Kurds from travelling to Syria to participate in the Syrian Civil War. It is claimed that 17 Kurds from Cizre fought and died in the Siege of Kobanî. The YDG-H, the militant youth wing of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), subsequently erected blockades, ditches, and armed checkpoints, and carried out patrols in several neighbourhoods to block the movement of Turkish police. A military operation was launched by the Turkish Armed Forces to reestablish control over the city on 4 September 2015, and a curfew was imposed. An estimated 70 YDG-H militants responded with rocket-propelled and grenade attacks on Turkish soldiers. In the operation, the Turkish Ministry of the Interior claimed 32 PKK militants and 1 civilian had been killed, whereas the HDP argued 21 civilians were killed. On 10 September, a group of 30 HDP MPs led by leader Selahattin Demirtaş were denied entry to the city by the police. The curfew was briefly relaxed on 11 September, but was reimposed after two days.