Seven die in fight between Diyarbakır families over sons allegedly joining PKK

DİYARBAKIR – Doğan News Agency

Security measures were enhanced in the province following the fight. AA photo

An argument between two families in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır over the decision of three youth to join outlawed Kurdish militants escalated into an armed clash early today that left seven dead and 10 others injured.
 
The fight in the Çiftlibahçe village of Diyarbakır’s Hazro district near the provincial center was sparked after one of the families learned that three of its sons had allegedly departed for the mountain camps of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and held the other family as responsible. 
 
According Doğan News Agency’s report, Gani Uğurlu accused Ömer Tekin, who is reportedly a member of the Peace and Democracy Party’s (BDP) provincial assembly, to have influenced his son and two nephews into joining the PKK.  
 
Members of both families clashed with Kalashnikovs in the early hours of Aug. 17. Two members of the Uğurlu family as well as four members of the Tekin family were killed in the fight. The seventh victim was not identified. Four of the dead were women.      
 
Gendarmerie forces took tight security measures in the village to avoid further clashes, Doğan news agency reported. The three members of the Uğurlu family who allegedly joined the PKK have been missing since Aug. 15, when a demonstration celebrating the anniversary of the beginning of the organization’s armed struggle was held in the province, the report said.