Seven injured as group attacks fast-breaking dinner organized by US consulate in Diyarbakır

DİYARBAKIR - Anadolu Agency

Seven people, including a police officer, were injured during the scuffles that erupted after the group’s attack. AA Photo

A crowd protested a fast-breaking iftar meal organized in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır by the U.S. consulate in Adana on July 15, attacking the tent where the food was prepared and served.

Seven people, including a police officer, were injured during the scuffles that erupted after the group’s attack. Two of the injured people underwent surgery.

Some 72 NGOs and associations were invited by the U.S. consul general in Adana, John Espinoza, to the iftar in tents erected by Diyarbakır Metropolitan Municipality in the central Dağkapı Square.

A group gathered nearby to protest the event, burning U.S. flags, and some people from within the group reportedly threw flares at the tents, damaging tables and chairs and prompting police to resort to tear gas.

The U.S. consulate said it "understood the protests" but condemned the attack, noting that a similar iftar event was held during Ramadan last year.

“We support the right to protest. But the fact that demonstrators threw all the food prepared is unacceptable. We condemn it,” said Espinoza, adding that the iftar meal was intended to show their commitment to the people of Diyarbakır.

“We wanted to show our respect for cultural and religious traditions with an iftar dinner in the district of Sur. We know that these hooligans who have breached this night unlawfully don’t represent Diyarbakır,” he said.

The head of the Democratic Regions Party’s (DBP) Diyarbakır branch, Zübeyde Zümrüt, claimed that the attack was planned. “Two of [the injured] are in serious condition. One has undergone surgery, while another is preparing to do so. One person may lose an eye,” Zümrüt said.

Diyarbakır co-mayors Gültan Kışanak and Fırat Anlı visited the injured in hospital. However, another group of people outside prevented her from making a statement following her visit to the hospital.