In August 2015, local Kurdish activists announced autonomous self-rule in Sur, one of the several attempts of Kurdish separatism in the region at the time. Turkish police used plastic bullets, teargas and water cannons against thousands of demonstrators protesting the curfew in Diyarbakır. Blanket curfews were imposed on several towns and districts in the region as a result.[specify] The curfew in Sur began in early December 2015.[citation needed]