Colonel dismissed in Uludere investigation
DİYARBAKIR - Doğan News Agency
A deputy border regiment commander was dismissed from his post Jan. 8 in connection with the disastrous airstrike in the southeastern province of Şırnak that led to the deaths of 35 civilians Dec. 28, 2011.Şırnak Gov. Vahdettin Özkan appealed to the Interior Ministry on Jan. 6 for Gülyazı Gendermarie Border Regiment Deputy Commander Col. Hüseyin Onur Güney to be relieved of his duties as part of an administrative investigation into the incident.
Three inspectors from the Interior Ministry were charged with conducting the investigation launched by the Şırnak Governor’s Office.
The air bombardment in Şırnak’s Uludere district Dec. 28, 2011, killed a group of smugglers, mostly teenagers, after they were mistaken for militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The incident sparked fury and condemnation from certain quarters, including several non-governmental organizations (NGOs), opposition politicians and thousands of demonstrators who poured out onto the streets Dec. 30, 2011, to protest the killings. Meanwhile, the head of the Parliament Human Rights Commission established a sub-commission to investigate the killings.
