Seven villagers killed in armed attack in southeastern Turkey

BATMAN – Doğan News Agency

The attacked occurred as the seven victims were walking to the shores of small stream, located one kilometer from the village, to find pasture for their animals.

Seven people, including women and children, were killed in an armed attack as they were going to farm in a rural area of the southeastern province of Batman late Aug. 2.

One suspect has been arrested, Batman Gov. Azmi Çelik said in a statement, while the headman of the Örensu village where the incident occurred claimed that the attackers were disguised in women’s clothing. A search has been launched to find other possible suspects, officials have also said.

The attacked occurred as the seven victims were walking to the shores of small stream, located one kilometer from the village, to find pasture for their animals.

Sultan and Bilal Efe, both 15, İdris Güneş, 17, Sevime Tung, 25, and Sadıya Tung, 65, died in the attack. A 13-year-old whose name was not disclosed, as well as an imam who had come to the village for a visit were also among the victims.

The villagers were shot in the back, said the headman, Selim İsen. “This doesn’t look like an attack committed by one person. According to the villagers, people who came here disguised in women shot them. Nothing such had happened before in our village.”

But the Batman Governor’s Office said in a written statement that the incident was the result of a fight between villagers.

Gendarmerie units have launched an investigation into the incident, while the bodies were sent to the Forensic Medicine Institute for an autopsy.