The movement launched by Kurdish mothers against PKK brutalities gained momentum as another mother seeking the return of her child joined the sit-in protest yesterday in southeastern Turkey's Diyarbakır province, outside the provincial office of the pro-PKK Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).

Süheyla Demir travelled from eastern Ağrı to Diyarbakır province along with her 1.5-year-old infant with the hope of retrieving her daughter Hayal, who was kidnapped by PKK terrorists five years ago.

"I spoke to my daughter once over the phone, she sounded regretful. She was hardly speaking and she has never called since," Demir told reporters, adding that her daughter was staying at a hostel in the city center, away from the family, to attend high school when she was forcibly recruited.

The HDP, long facing public reaction and judicial probes over its ties to the PKK, is under pressure due to the growing civilian protest movement launched by mothers and local families.

The sit-in has continued since Sept. 3, with 55 families currently protesting, including five Iranian families whose children were abducted by the PKK's Iranian wing, the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK).

Demir pleaded with her daughter to come back. "We are waiting for you here, you are our daughter," she said, urging all mothers in Turkey to stand with them.

The protest was started by Hacire Akar in front of the HDP provincial office in Diyarbakır last month. Akar demanded the return of her 21-year-old son, Mehmet Akar, who had been missing for three days after he was abducted by the PKK terrorist group. Following her sit-in and with the help of the security forces in Diyarbakır, Akar was finally reunited with her son.