Electricity personnel taken hostage in Turkey’s Şanlıurfa in protest against power cuts

ŞANLIURFA

A group of about 40 locals in the southeastern province of Şanlıurfa on July 12 took two employees of the Dicle Electricity Distribution Corporation (DEDAŞ) hostage in protest against power cuts in the neighborhood, Doğan News Agency has reported.

The incident occurred when the two DEDAŞ personnel came with the company maintenance and a repair vehicle to the Bağlarbaşı neighborhood to fix a transformer. The crowd, claiming that their electronic devices were severely damaged due to frequently occurring power cuts, took the company personnel as well as the vehicle hostage. 

Following the incident, authorities dispatched police teams with armored vehicles. The crowd then complained to the police about their problem, with one citizen saying that his 3,000 Turkish Liras worth of air conditioner at his workplace was broken due to the power cuts. Ahmet Koç said he was paying his electricity bills on time, but could no longer activate his air conditioner, which led to no customers stopping by his shop. 
 
Another tradesman, Mustafa Kaya, said the power cuts were happening twice or three times a day in his shop. “We are the city that produces the most electricity in the country but we are deprived of electricity,” he said. 

After an hour of negotiation between the police and neighborhood locals, the two DEDAŞ personnel were released. 

An investigation was launched into the incident.