Soldiers killed in latest PKK attacks laid to rest in hometowns

ISTANBUL - Doğan News Agency

DHA photo

Burial ceremonies for six Turkish soldiers recently killed in two separate terrorism-related incidents have been held in their respective hometowns across the country.

Lt. Col. İhsan Ejdar, 43, one of the four soldiers killed after clashes with outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants in the Dağlıca village of the southeastern province of Hakkari, was buried in his hometown Ankara on Oct. 18.

Among those who attended Ejdar’s burial ceremony at the Kocatepe Mosque in the Turkish capital were Republican People’s Party (CHP) head Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül, Turkish General Staff head Hulusi Akar and Turkish Interior Minister Selami Altınok.

Turgay Topsakaloğlu, 34, a gendarmerie sergeant killed after the clashes in Dağlıca, a village in Hakkari’s Yüksekova district, was buried on Oct. 18 in his hometown Eskişehir, a province in Turkey’s Central Anatolian region. Topsakaloğlu’s funeral was held at the Reşadiye Mosque in the province ahead of his burial.

Lt. Ünal Darboğaz, 29, another soldier killed in the Dağlıca clashes, was buried in Istanbul on Oct. 18, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Darboğaz’s funeral was held at the Ömer Duruk Mosque in Istanbul’s Ataköy neighborhood.

Among those who attended Darboğaz’s burial ceremony were Istanbul Governor Vasip Şahin and Istanbul Police Department head Mustafa Çalışkan.

Darboğaz was married on Sept. 14 and worked in Ankara. The clashes that led to his death erupted while he was on temporary duty in Dağlıca.

Gendarmerie Sgt. Samet Çakır, 28, who was also killed in the Dağlıca clashes, was buried on Oct. 18 in his hometown Trabzon, a province in the Black Sea region, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Gendarmerie Sgt. Onur Sönmez, one of two soldiers killed in a huge explosion detonated by PKK militants in the eastern province of Tunceli, was buried in his hometown Kayseri, a province in the Central Anatolian region. 

Gendarmerie Staff Sgt. Mehmet Şimşek, 26, the other soldier killed in the Tunceli explosion, was buried in his hometown Afyon, a western province.

Şimşek’s funeral was held in the Çayırpınar village of Afyon’s Çay district, with his family and relatives mourning in tears.

Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Mehmet Alkan, the brother of a soldier killed in rocket fire by the PKK in the southeastern province of Şırnak in late August, who unleashed an angry reaction against politicians during his brother’s funeral, was punished with a warning issued by Turkey’s General Command of the Gendarmerie.

Lt. Col. Alkan, the elder brother of slain soldier Ali Alkan, directly targeted politicians during the funeral, questioning the reasons behind the latest outbreaks of violence. 

“Why do those who have been saying ‘solution’ since yesterday now say war?” he asked. 

“Who is his [Ali Alkan’s] murderer?”