After a nine-day round-the-clock curfew in the southeastern district of Cizre, just north of the Syrian border, the extent of the devastation to civilian life and property has not yet been revealed, but the first photographs from the region have shown a war-torn town.

“Security reasons cannot be an excuse for killing children and other civilians, for preventing citizens’ access to food, water, electricity and healthcare services. There can be no legitimate excuse for what the government has been doing in Cizre. Civilians have been punished by being made hostages in Cizre,” said Nurcan Kaya, a member of Barış Meclisi (Peace Assembly) based in İstanbul and Turkey coordinator for Minority Rights Group International (MRG), a London-based NGO.

The curfew left residents living in dire conditions due to constant gunfire and explosions that have destroyed many homes in the district.

While Interior Minister Selami Altınok said that up to 32 members of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK, designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the EU and the US) had been killed in Cizre, in addition to one civilian, the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) said that at least 20 civilians, including children, were killed in the violence.

Opposition politicians hold President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan completely responsible for the surge in terrorism and chaos after the June 7 election, in which former Prime Minister Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AK Party) was unable to form a single-party government due to the success of the HDP passing the election threshold with 13 percent of the vote.

Many HDP politicians — including members from the interim Cabinet steering the country to the Nov. 1 snap election — attempted a 55-mile march to Cizre as security forces blocked roads to the town, but their entry was not allowed for “security” reasons.

Elaborating on the issue, Kaya answered our questions.