Turkey sends note to Armenia condemning shooting of shepherd

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity with Azerbaijan, after Armenia occupied Azerbaijani lands in the Nagorno-Karabakh War. DHA Photo

The Turkish Foreign Ministry has sent a diplomatic note to Yerevan condemning Armenia for using “disproportionate force” after a shepherd was shot dead by soldiers patrolling the sealed border.

The note, sent through Turkey’s embassy in Tbilisi as Ankara has no diplomatic ties with Armenia, explained how and why the Turkish national had illegally crossed into Armenia, and demanded an explanation for why “disproportionate force” was used to kill him.

The 35-year-old shepherd, Mustafa Ülker, crossed over to the Armenian side of the border to retrieve a lost sheep and was shot dead by Armenian soldiers patrolling the border, Kars Governor Eyüp Tepe said on Aug. 1.

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity with Azerbaijan, after Armenia occupied Azerbaijani lands in the Nagorno-Karabakh War.