Many Western European countries have migrant Kurdish and Turkish communities. Ocalan's arrest triggered mainly peaceful rallies of Kurds across the continent. The Anatolian news agency said a Turkish soldier had died of wounds he sustained when a Kurdish militant blew herself up near a police station earlier this week in support of Ocalan. Yilmaz said on Wednesday Italy would be an accomplice to mass murder unless it handed over the guerrilla. Ocalan is Turkey's most-wanted fugitive.
Italian law forbids extraditing suspects to countries which, like Turkey, have the death penalty.
The wave of Turkish fury has been fuelled by a strident local media. The flood of condemnation swells wave by wave,'' the Sabah daily said. While the temperature of the diplomatic battle with Italy rises, the Ankara government faces its own struggle for survival. Parliament is due to decide on Thursday on whether to hold a censure vote against Yilmaz. Hundreds of Kurdish rebel prisoners are on hunger strike and scores have set fire to themselves in support of Ocalan, but the majority of Turks have responded with outrage at the prospect Italy might grant his request for political asylum.