'Armenian soldier' in eastern Turkey battle re-enactment hurt for real

VAN

DHA photo

A man portraying an Armenian soldier in a battle re-enactment marking the liberation of an eastern district has been injured in the dramatization, daily Milliyet reported today.  
 
The re-enactment was staged April 1 to mark the liberation of Erciş in the eastern province of Van in 1918. 
 
As is the case every year, those re-enacting the battle split into two groups, one representing Turkish fighters and the other Armenian soldiers. The re-enactment lacked historical accuracy, though, as actors wore modern camouflage, blue jeans and sunglasses and were armed with pump-action shotguns instead of infantry rifles.  
 
Murat Alpsalaz, who works as a janitor in Erciş Municipality and portrayed an Armenian soldier, was burned when a spent cartridge from a shotgun fired by a nearby actor landed on his neck. The cartridge was apparently blank.
 
Alpsalaz was treated for minor burns at Erciş State Hospital.