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Turkey orders temporary media ban after deadly suicide bombing, internet access reportedly limited

Turkey orders temporary media ban after deadly suicide bombing, internet access reportedly limited

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In the wake of a horrific suicide bombing in the Turkish capital city of Ankara today, Twitter said that users across the country were struggling to access the social network. Scattered reports suggest that internet access is also limited. A link to the bombing has not been confirmed, but the Turkish Prime minister ordered a temporary "publication ban" in the aftermath of the bombing, banning media reporting across the country.

The bombing killed at least 95 and injured close to 300 during a peace march near Ankara's central train station. The march was organized to demand an end to renewed hostilities by the state with Kurdish militants. According to reports, the prime minister suggested the two separate explosions came from suicide bombers, possibly tied to the Islamic State or Kurdish rebel groups.

A notice from the deputy prime minster confirmed the media ban, and other reports pointed to a wider internet outage. Ugurcan Taspinar, a news editor at Turkish tech site Techno Today, told The Verge that access to email is limited and that Facebook, as well as Twitter, are down at his location. The Turkish government has limited social media access in the past during sensitive events, such as another suicide bombing this summer, and has faced repeated accusations of censorship.