Kurdish conflict overshadows cup quarter-final in southeast Turkey

* Police water cannon fired at crowd outside stadium

* Second division side earns 3-3 draw with giants Fenerbahce

Two rival Turkish football teams stood defiantly behind a banner urging peace on Tuesday before playing a surreal quarter final match to an empty stadium in Turkey's conflict-ridden southeast following a ban on spectators for chanting political slogans.

The conflict between Turkish security forces and Kurdish militants loomed large over the 3-3 draw between southeast Turkey's Amedspor and Istanbul side Fenerbahce, as police fired water cannon at a crowd near the stadium in Diyarbakir, the largest city in the mainly Kurdish southeast.

Before the match, players from both teams stood behind a banner saying "Don't let children die, let them come to the match". The slogan - a reference to the violence in the southeast - was one of several chanted by Amedspor supporters at a previous match which led to the Turkish football federation imposing a spectators' ban for "ugly and bad" chants.

Hundreds of militants, security force members and civilians have been killed since the collapse of a ceasefire between the army and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants last July, reviving a conflict which has killed 40,000 since 1984.

As Fenerbahce kicked off the game, Amedspor players turned towards one of the stands and stood still for about 30 seconds, in an apparent protest, until a Fenerbahce player kicked the ball into touch.

Seyhmus Ozer put Amedspor ahead in the 10th minute before the Istanbul club gained the initiative with goals from Ramazan Civelek and Fernandao before halftime.

Two goals in quick succession from Ferdi Coskun and Yusuf Yagmur gave the home side the lead in the 70th minute before Volkan Sen pulled the visitors back level in the 75th minute. The second leg is set to be played in March.

"IDEOLOGICAL PROPAGANDA"

During the match, military jets could be heard roaring overhead. Several hundred police kept tight security around the stadium and police repeatedly fired water cannon at some 100 people nearby, a Reuters witness said.

Aside from the spectators' ban, Turkey's football federation had also banned Amedspor player Deniz Naki for 12 matches for "ideological propaganda" over comments he made dedicating their previous victory to those wounded and killed in "repression".

Elsewhere in Diyarbakir, a 17-year-old was shot in the head and killed during a protest against Turkey's security operations, a security source said.

Two members of the special forces -- one soldier and one police officer -- were also killed and three security forces were hurt in a clash in the Sur district of Diyarbakir on Tuesday, a local official said, on condition of anonymity.

The state has imposed curfews in parts of the southeast to enable security forces to remove barricades, explosive devices and ditches set up by militants from the PKK, designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and European Union.