Two Turkish soldiers die after dispute

ANKARA – Doğan News Agency

A soldier has allegedly committed suicide in Ankara after killing a fellow soldier, after an apparent dispute broke out between the two.

It was claimed that the soldier, identified only as U.Ö., shot dead O.D. with his rifle after a dispute turned violent at Ankara’s Ahiboz Gendarmerie Station. It is claimed that U.Ö then killed himself with the same rifle.

The two soldiers, both 20-years-old, were found heavily injured at the scene, and died after being hospitalized. Their bodies were sent to the Keçiören Forensic Medicine Institute.

U.Ö. had been suffering from psychological disorders, according to claims. 

A military prosecutor has launched an investigation into the incident. 

A report by the Platform for Soldiers’ Rights (“Asker Hakları Platformu”), an advocacy group that details abuse of conscripts, recently revealed that 934 soldiers in Turkey are said to have committed suicide over the past decade, surpassing the number killed in fighting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).