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Growing anger against Erdogan, Top police officials sacked after Ankara attacks

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Anakara-police officialThe Turkish interior ministry on Wednesday fired Ankara’s top police chief and two other officials as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan admitted security shortcomings may have led to a double suicide bombing in the capital that killed 97 people, AFP news agency reports.
There has been growing anger against Erdogan and the government for alleged security lapses over the worst attack in modern Turkey’s history Saturday where two suicide bombers blew themselves in a crowd of peace activists.

Announcing the first dismissals in the wake of the disaster, the interior ministry said the chief of Ankara police Kadri Kartal as well the head of the city’s police intelligence and security departments had been sacked.

It said they had been removed on the suggestion of investigators “to allow for a healthy investigation” into the atrocity.
In his first public remarks over the bombings, Erdogan admitted there were security shortcomings but said their magnitude would be made clear only later.

Istanbul: Turkish police attack peace protesters with tear gas as thousands defiantly march in solidarity with 97 people killed

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2D48BC3C00000578-3267368-image-a-1_1444506643695Two explosions tore through the pro-Kurdish peace rally, killing 97 people At least 400 people wounded in the blast near Ankara’s main train station Third deadliest terror attack in Europe, after Lockerbie and Madrid bombs But peace protesters back out on the streets tonight in defiance of terror
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

By TOM WYKE and IMOGEN CALDERWOOD FOR MAILONLINE,

Turkish police have attacked peace protesters who had taken to the streets in a defiant gesture against the terrorists who set off two explosions at a pro-Kurdish rally earlier today, leaving 97 dead.
Thousands flooded the streets of the Istanbul, taking a brave stand against terrorists who targetted an earlier pro-Kurdish peace rally held in the Turkish capital Ankara.
The blasts tore through the crowd this afternoon, leaving up to 400 injured and at least 97 dead.
But police and protesters ended up clashing in the streets of Istanbul, with officers firing tear gas at marchers.

Horrific video footage has emerged of demonstrators holding hands and dancing, but their joy turned to terror as the blast erupted just metres behind them at 10.05am.
The explosion tore through the crowd of people, maiming dozens of innocent bystanders and leaving body parts and debris littering the road.
Pictures which emerged shortly afterwards showed torn fragments of flags and banners people had been waving just moments before littering the ground.
Witnesses described how the blasts, which are believed to have been a terror attack, shook the ground around the city’s main train station.
Health Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu initially confirmed that 62 people had been killed outright in the blast and a further 24 people had died in hospital.
But the figure is still rising, with the Turkish Medical Association claiming it has now reached almost 100 people and over 400 wounded.
The current death toll, which is expected to increase, makes it the third deadliest attack on Europe, after the Lockerbie bombings in 1988 and the Madrid train bombs of 2004.
Three days of mourning have been announced as the country grieves in the wake of the tragedy.
Emergency services have found themselves struggling to cope with the sheer number of wounded people in the aftermath of the blast.
The flags and banners which were being used to promote Kurdish rights in the demonstration were turned into makeshift stretchers by protesters tending to the injured.

 

Turkey: Document shows gov’t ignored attacked journalist Hakan’s security request

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n_89225_1Hürriyet columnist and CNNTürk program host Ahmet Hakan legally requested that the Turkish government appoint a permanent security detail 17 days before he was targeted in a physical attack on Oct. 1, legal documents show.

Four men, arriving in a black Honda at 12:35 a.m. on Oct. 1, attacked Hakan in Istanbul’s Nişantaşı neighborhood, as he was returning home after hosting his television program.

Hakan was hospitalized with broken bones in his nose and ribs after he was beaten by three assailants. Another assailant targeted his private bodyguard, who was commissioned by daily Hürriyet.

The attack was preceded last month by a physical attack on daily Hürriyet’s headquarters in Istanbul by pro-Justice and Development Party (AKP) protesters on the night of Sept. 6. AKP deputy Abdurrahim Boynukalın was filmed amid that attack delivering a fiery speech in front of the Hürriyet office, and he was also filmed in another video explicitly threatening Hakan.

The veteran Hürriyet journalist has also been a regular target in Turkey’s pro-AKP media outlets.

“Like schizophrenia patients, you still think you are living in the days when Hürriyet was running the country. But we could crush you like a fly if we wanted. We have been merciful until today and you are still alive,” pro-government Star newspaper columnist Cem Küçük had written in a Sept. 9 article, addressing Hakan. A criminal complaint against Küçük has been filed since the piece appeared.

Istanbul Governor admits shortcomings in phone call

After the threats, Hakan’s lawyer Turgut Kazan spoke on the phone with Interior Minister Selami Altınok, personally requesting an official bodyguard due to the “imminent threat,” daily Hürriyet has learned.

Another lawyer, Aslı Kazan, also sent a written application to the Istanbul Governor’s Office on Sept. 14 to repeat Hakan’s request for a permanent bodyguard.

At the time Hakan was attacked on Oct. 1, the government had yet to respond to the request. Officials told lawyers that the request would be reviewed after the Eid al-Adha holiday, which ended in Turkey on Sept. 28.

The Istanbul Governor’s Office released a written statement on Oct.1. “Upon his request, [he] was granted ‘security upon call,’ but our investigation reveals that he did not request security on the day of the attack,” the statement read.  It did not elaborate why a permanent security detail was not granted.

Istanbul Governor Vasip Şahin called Ahmet Hakan after the attack. “We think we were a little late in taking precautions. We will now take all precautions to protect you. Get well soon,” he said, according to a source.

Interior Minister Selami Altınok, on the other hand, later said that Hakan’s request was actually approved two ago, but “the procedure took longer” to appoint the bodyguard.

All suspects of the Sept. 6 and Sept. 8 attacks on the Hürriyet headquarters were released after briefly being detained by police and no legal proceedings had been launched against MP Boynukalın as of Oct. 1.

Turkey: Prominent Turkish Hurriyet journalist injured in gang attack

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n_89272_1Two of the four suspects who were detained after a physical assault that injured prominent Turkish journalist Ahmet Hakan have been revealed as members of the Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Four men, arriving in a black Honda at 12:35 a.m. on Oct. 1, attacked the daily Hürriyet columnist in Istanbul’s Nişantaşı neighborhood as he was returning home after hosting his television program on CNNTürk.

Private broadcaster Kanal D reported Oct. 1 that the four men were relatives originally from the eastern province of Van and two of them were registered as members of the AKP in Istanbul’s Fatih district.

Uğur Adıyaman, a 29-year-old private security officer, was convicted over drug-, threat- and fraud-related crimes. According to the report, he was registered as a member of the AKP on Oct, 12, 2010. His brother, Seyhan Adıyaman, had joined the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) 24 years ago.

The second assailant, Fuat Elmas, 29, became a member of the AKP on June 19, 2007, and worked at a private security firm until 2010, the report added.

The third assailant, Kamuran Ergin, 29, had previously faced drug- and armed assault-related charges in the court. He works at a textile company.

The report did not provide any background information about the fourth assailant, identified as Ahmet Güler.

“Whoever uses it for whatever reason, it is not possible to approve of violence. I always condemn violence and disapprove it, particularly when it targets journalists,” Davutoğlu said when journalists asked him about the incident in his plane as he was returning from his official visit to the United Nations headquarters in New York.

Attack targeting Hakan was the latest assault against daily Hürriyet and its journalists in the past month.

Hürriyet’s headquarters in Istanbul were attacked by pro-AKP protesters on Sept. 6, while AKP MP Abdurrahim Boynukalın was filmed threatening both Hakan and Hürriyet Editor-in-Chief Sedat Ergin. A second attack followed it in less than 48 hours.

Turkey: Two security personnel killed, nine others injured in PKK attacks in southeast

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n_88981_1ŞIRNAK – Doğan News Agency,

Two soldiers and 34 militants were killed in two separate attacks and a military operation in southeastern Turkey late on Sept. 24 and early on Sept. 25, the Turkish Armed Forces has announced.

The Chief of General Staff said in a written statement on Sept. 25 that two soldiers were killed in the two attacks late on Sept. 24 and early on Sept. 25, each conducted by outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants in the Beytüşşebap district of the southeastern province of Şırnak.

Eight soldiers and a village guard were also injured in the attacks that started at 11 p.m. Sept. 24 and 5:40 a.m. Sept. 25, the statement said, adding that all those who were injured in the attacks were being treated in the Şırnak Public Hospital.

Attacks by Turkish state forces left four people dead and four others wounded in Beytüşşebap

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turkish attack-on kurdBy ŞIRNAK – ANF,

In addition to the bombardment by Turkish jets, troops at Gendarmerie Command conducted artillery fire in Beytüşşebap district of Şırnak since last night. The attacks by Turkish forces left some 10 houses and one mosque unusable.

After entering the district in armored vehicles, state forces rained bullets on all the workplaces at district center, as a result of which around 20 workplaces were damaged and 4 others became unusable. While two yet-unidentified people were wounded in the attacks, armed forces also opened fire on the buildings of the HDP and DBP.

THREE KILLED IN MORTAR ATTACKS

Troops at District Gendarmerie Command launched mortar attacks on the nearby villages of Setkar, Tilbes, Faraşîn, Meydan, Germav (Ilıca), Gernex and Tivor.

A mortar shell fired by soldiers hit a house in Setkar village, which left three civilians dead and two others heavily wounded.

Civilians Ahmet Temel, his son Behçet Temel and their relative Alya Temel have lost their lives, while Fevzi Temel and Ahmet Temel’s son Hasan Temel were heavily wounded in the fire. The bodies of the murdered civilians were taken to Uludere State Hospital, and the wounded to Beytüşşebap and Şırnak State Hospital.

The casualties left by the attack are reported to be relatives of former district co-mayor Yusuf Temel.

AMBULANCE DRIVER WAS ALSO SHOT DEAD

On the other hand, police also killed an ambulance driver Şehmuz Dursun as he entered the district to take the wounded policemen upon a call by the district governor early in the morning.

Eyewitnesses told that fire opened by police forces on the ambulance left the driver dead, while two other health workers fled the scene to save their lives.

As tension remains quite high, Turkish forces keep bombing the mountains surrounding the district.

In the meantime, HDP Şırnak deputies Faysal Sarıyıldız, Ferhat Encü and Aycan İrmez have arrived the district to examine the incidents at scene.

Turkey: 24 soldiers injured in two PKK attacks in eastern Turkey

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The injured were transferred to a hospital in Van. (Photo: DHA)

The injured were transferred to a hospital in Van. (Photo: DHA)

24 soldiers were injured in two separate bomb attacks by the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the Başkale district of Van province late on Monday night.

The first blast, which took place at around 11 p.m. on Monday night, struck a military vehicle and injured 13 soldiers. Two hours later, another military vehicle was hit by a blast in a nearby area, with 11 soldiers injured.

The Doğan news agency has reported that the injured soldiers were transferred to a hospital in the city of Van after receiving initial treatment at Başkale State Hospital. An air operation has been launched in the area to find the perpetrators.

PKK attack police chief’s car in Tunceli, two injured

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PKK recently blocked a road connecting Hozat to Tunceli. (Photo: DHA)

The police chief of the hozat district of Tunceli and another police officer traveling with him were seriously injured when members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) attacked his car on Monday. 

The PKK opened fire on Hozat Police Chief Adem Albay with automatic rifles near Karaoğlan area late on Monday. Albay and police officer Hayati Çapa were seriously injured in the attack while the terrorists fled the scene. The injured police officers were initially taken to the Hozat State Hospital and then transferred to Elazığ Military Hospital.

A comprehensive air-backed operation was launched to perpetrators of the attack.

Turkey Three police officers killed in PKK attacks in Turkey’s southeast

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plc.thumb-pkkA total of three police officers were killed and seven were wounded on Sept. 13 in two separate attacks by the  Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the southeastern Şırnak and Diyarbakır provinces, Doğan News Agency has reported.

PKK  detonated a bomb-laden vehicle in front of a police checkpoint in Şırnak early in the morning, killing two police officers and wounding five.

According to initial reports, two militants responsible for the attack were killed as an air-supported operation began to apprehend the other fleeing militants.

In a separate attack in Diyarbakır’s Silvan province, PKK  killed one police officer and wounded two, including a civilian.

PKK  attacked a group of police team heading toward Mescit neighborhood to cover up the ditches dug by the Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement (YDG-H), the youth wing of the PKK. One police officer inside an earth-digger was killed as a rocket-propelled grenade hit on it. Police forces immediately responded the attack and an armed clash erupted with the militants. One police officer and one civilian who was on his balcony during the clashes were wounded.

Azerbaijani troops fire at Armenian civilians, 17 homes damaged in Chinari village

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attack-on-villagesIt has been calm since the morning in the village of Chinari in Armenia’s Tavush province bordering Azerbaijan. Shots were fired last evening, but there was no damage, Chinari village administrator Samvel Saghoyan said today at a discussion about the situation on the border.

“The situation escalated in early September. Arms of various calibers, including mortars, were used to open fire at the village. Luckily, there were no victims or large-scale destruction,” he noted.

A commission was set up to assess the amount of damage caused by the Azerbaijani side, Saghoyan said. The commission found that 17 homes were damaged, and residents of Chinari suffered material damage of 500,000 drams.

“We expect the Armenian government and the regional administration to pay compensation. In the past years, the damage was redressed in full,” the village administrator said.

He stressed that over that period the school and kindergarten of Chinari operated as usual.

Source: Panorama.am