Three civilians killed in Turkey’s southeast, HDP deputy claims three more killed in separate attack

ŞIRNAK – Doğan News Agency

DHA photo

Three civilians were killed during clashes between Turkish security personnel and outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants in the southeastern province of Şırnak’s Cizre district on Aug. 27, amid claims by a Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) deputy saying three more people were killed and seven others were wounded in clashes in the Yüksekova district of Hakkari.

Eyüp Ergin, who was working in the Cizre State Hospital, was severely wounded when he was struck by bullets while he was on his way home during the clashes. He succumbed to his injuries at the hospital where he worked. 

Mesut Sanrı, 28, an employee at DEDAŞ, an electricity grid firm, was also injured while he was trying to fix a breakdown as the clashes erupted. Sanrı succumbed to his injuries at the hospital. 

The third civilian who died in Cizre was 7-year-old Baran Çağlı, who was injured after a wall collapsed on him.

Even though Çağlı was hospitalized after the incident, he also succumbed to his injuries. 



The clashes erupted after members of the PKK set up barricades against Turkish security forces on three streets in Cizre. The PKK members stopped cars these streets and took the drivers’ keys so they could use their cars to block the roads.

Meanwhile, Turkish security forces have launched an operation in the curfew-decreed Yüksekova district of the southeastern province of Hakkari, with a HDP deputy saying three people were dead and seven others wounded in clashes between security personnel and outlawed PKK militants.

Clashes between security forces and militants from the outlawed organization lasted until the morning hours in Yüksekova on Aug. 27 in the operation, which came shortly after an indeterminate curfew took effect at 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 26 in the southeastern district. 

Protests staged despite curfew

The state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Aug. 26 well-trained military personnel equipped with guarded vehicles were deployed in Hakkari’s Şemdinli district, about 50 kilometers southeast of Yüksekova.

HDP deputy Abdullah Zeydan said three were killed and seven were wounded in the clashes between security forces and PKK militants in Yüksekova late Aug. 26, a claim that has yet to be confirmed by authorities.

“Clashes erupted in old Kışla, Orman and Mezarlık neighborhoods of Yüksekova after the curfew declared yesterday at 11:30 p.m. According to information coming to us, 10 civilians were wounded, among whom three lost their lives. Ambulances trying to take the wounded were denied access to the area. Citizens want to take the wounded to the hospital by their own means, but security forces do not allow that either. We, as deputies, cannot access the area as well. The public was left to their own fate,” Zeydan said.

The Hakkari Governor’s Office declared a curfew until further notice following the clashes in Yüksekova starting from 11:30 p.m. on Aug. 26. 

Despite the curfew, a number of people took to streets and staged protests with gunshots and explosions heard until the early hours of Aug. 27. Security forces dispersed the protesters firing tear gas and water cannons.

A committee consisting of HDP Van deputies Adem Geveri and Tuğba Hezer, HDP Ağrı deputy Mehmet Emin İlhan, several members from the HDP Central Executive Board (MYK) and the HDP Party Assembly (PM) was reported to be visiting Yüksekova on Aug. 27 to make a field observation over clashes in the southeastern district.  

Upsurge in violence

Turkey faces an upsurge in violence in its eastern and southeastern regions that have left scores of deaths and injuries.

In the eastern province of Van, two police officers were injured after PKK militants fired rockets at a police vehicle in Van’s Edremit district late Aug. 26. The injured officers were taken to the medical school hospital of the Yüzünü Yıl University and a police operation was launched to arrest the perpetrators.

In a separate incident in Van, two civilians, namely Abdulcebbar Kılıç and Mehmet Emin Kılıç, were injured after crashing into a hole created after PKK militants detonated a bomb planted under a road connecting Van’s Başkale district to the central Van on Aug. 26 afternoon.

In the eastern province of Bingöl, three workers were injured after PKK militants fired rockets at military personnel guarding a hydroelectric power plant in Bingöl’s Kiğı district late Aug. 26. The injured workers were taken to the Bingöl Public Hospital and an operation was launched to arrest the militants.