Turkey's government has condemned a series of kidnappings of teachers by suspected Kurdish rebels who aim to disrupt education in the Turkish language as the government refuses to allow education in Kurdish.

Turkish media, citing local authorities, said Thursday the rebels kidnapped 12 teachers in the country's southeast over the past week.

Local authorities say the rebels last kidnapped three teachers in the town of Lice, north of the city of Diyarbakir on Tuesday night.

Kurdish rebels have been fighting for autonomy in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast region since 1984 the fate of the teachers is not clear but the rebels have killed several teachers in the past.

Turkey says that allowing education in Kurdish language could threaten the country's territorial unity.