Stray bullet from Syria kills one in Turkish border town, bringing total death toll to four

CEYLANPINAR – Doğan News Agency

Ramazan Zeybel’s death brought the total number of Ceylanpınar residents killed by stray bullets and mortars to four. DHA photo

A stray bullet fired during clashes in the Syrian town of Ras al-Ayn along the Turkish frontier has caused another death in Ceylanpınar just across the border.
 
Ramazan Zeybel, a 43-year-old man and father of 10, was shot in the chest while out shopping ahead of the Ramadan Bayram holiday. He was immediately taken to the hospital but succumbed to his wounds despite the medical intervention.
 
Zeybel’s death brought the total number of Ceylanpınar residents killed by stray bullets and mortars to four. 
 
Following the incident, the small municipality made public announcements warning residents to avoid the surroundings of the borderline and staying on the patios of their homes.
 
Security measures near the frontiers were also increased. Violent shooting and constant mortar fires were engaged during clashes between the al-Nusra Front and the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the Syrian affiliate of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), witnesses said.
 
Two teenagers, 17-year-old Mahsun Ertuğrul and 16-year-old Mehmet Gündüz were killed by stray bullets fired during the clashes that started mid-July.
 
Şükrü Kahraman, 44 years old, was also killed due to a stray mortar while he was working his plantations with his children on July 26.
 
A farmer identified as Mahmut Özgen was injured on Aug. 1 when a stray bullet over the border hit him in the right leg.
 
Tension at the frontier have frequently spilled over as Turkish forces deployed at the Cenkeser border station responded several times to shots coming from the Syrian side by firing infantry and machine-gun volleys.  
 
Clashes between the PYD and jihadists fighting the secular government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have flared since Kurds began asserting control over parts of northeastern Syria late last year.
 
PYD leader Salih Muslim, who came to Turkey last week, said that al-Nusra was at war with Kurds, asking for Turkey’s support in case of the establishment of provisional autonomic rule.