Mules ‘used in smuggling’ killed by soldiers in southeast

ŞIRNAK - Doğan News Agency

Mules in villages of the Uludere district of the southern province of Şırnak have allegedly been killed by soldiers upon a court decision after it was alleged the mules were used for smuggling purposes.

Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Şırnak deputy Faysal Sarıyıldız, Şırnak Mayor Serhat Kadırhan and Uludere Mayor Zeynep Güren arrived at the scene of the killings in Gülyazı, near the Ortasu (Roboski) village.

Sarıyıldız said the killings were not acceptable, adding they were running out of patience for the actions against the villagers living in the area.

“The Roboski (Ortasu) incident is a festering sore in our hearts. With this in mind, if the state still makes an attempt on the animals’ lives, it is not something to take on the chin,” said Sarıyıldız, referring to the airstrikes launched against Roboski village in 2011, which claimed the lives of 34 civilians.

In addition, the outraged villagers said they did not allow soldiers to cross the borderline while handing out the images of the dead mules to the journalists.

Şırnak Provincial Agriculture Directorate had litigated the killing of 57 mules, which were allegedly used for smuggling across the border, on the grounds they were sick. The villagers had protested the litigation with their mules outside the district governorate on March 20.

Uludere is the district where a total of 34 civilian villagers in Ortasu, also known as Roboski, were killed in the airstrike near the Turkish-Iraqi border, allegedly mistaken for outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants as they smuggled goods from northern Iraq into Turkey on Dec. 28, 2011.