Civilians slaughtered by Turkish army

SIRNEX | 30 – 12 – 2011 | Following the MGK (National Security Council) meeting on 28 December, the Turkish army has made a slaughter with warplanes. At least 35 burnt bodies have been reached so far. The number of casualties is feared to increase.

Around 50 civilians, some of them believed to be borders smugglers, were targeted by F-16 warplanes on Wednesday night at around 21.20 local time. Among the dead are young boys.

According to the information received, wounded survivor Servet Encü came to the village and informed villagers after the assault. Encü said the followings; “We were bombed on our way back to the village. A bitter smell spread during the bombardment, people all at once died burning. Around five people escaped from the bombing and hid themselves amidst rocks but the warplanes dropped bombs on them as well.

While no news is received from many villagers, two wounded civilians were taken to Şırnak State Hospital with ambulances arriving at the scene after the assault.

Soon after being informed about the event, BDP Şırnak Provincial Chair Baki Sondak and BDP administrators went to the scene.

Şırnak City Council Deputy Chair Erşet Ediş said the followings from the scene; “The bodies were burnt to a crisp. Vehicles cannot go into the area due to severe snow. People are trying to reach the area by their own means.”

Remarking that soldiers acted as if nothing had happened and didn’t interfere in the event, BDP Şırnak Provincial Chair Baki Sondak said the followings; “Villagers were bombarded after passing the border with the supplies they bought from the border. It is possible that napalm bombs were used in the assault. There are still some bodies between rocks. We can’t reach the bodies and casualties.”

The names of the 19 confirmed dead are as follows; Özcan Uysal, Nevzat Encü, Salih Encü, Ferhat Encü, Şervan Encü, Osman Kaplan, M. Ali Tosun, Nadir Almak, Yüksel Ürek, Salih Ürek, , Adem And, Hamza Encü, Cemal Encü, Sivan Encü, Bedran Encü, Hüseyin Encü, Selam Encü, Aslan Encü, Celal Encü.

On the other hand, Turkish media are reluctantly beginning to give the news of the massacre in Uludere only hours after it happened. (D.F. ANF)