Turkish shepherd shot dead by Armenian soldiers at border

KARS – Anadolu Agency

Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in solidarity with Azerbaijan after Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan in 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Hürriyet Photo

A Turkish shepherd who crossed into Armenia from the eastern province of Kars has been shot dead by Armenian soldiers patrolling the border, Kars Gov. Eyüp Tepe said today.

Mustafa Ülker, 35, had illegally passed to the Armenian side from the province’s Arpaçay district after reportedly going to retrieve a lost sheep.

“One of our citizens has lost his life. The Armenian side wants to return [his body]. Our brigade commander assistant and district governor is at the border. We will receive our citizen’s [body] probably from the east gate,” said Tepe.

“We can say that there is a use of excessive force when we consider that he [Ülker] had no gun,” Tepe said.

Ülker crossed over the border on foot to bring back one of his lost sheep when he was shot by Armenian soldiers late July 31.

Akyaka District Gov. Osman Uğurlu previously said late July 31 that Ülker returned to the border when he realized that one of his animals was missing. “The animal was probably giving birth there. This incident took place when he returned to retrieve the animal.”