Relatives of Siyar Salman mourn over his grave during a funeral ceremony in the Kurdish dominated southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, December 15, 2015. According to local media, Salman, a 19-year old man, was killed on Monday in Diyarbakir during a protest against the curfew in Sur district. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar – RTX1YSUN
“Well over 100” deaths of Kurdish women and children have been recorded over the past six months in southeastern Turkey, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said, calling on the country to scale back its operations in the region and investigate.
“Kurdish civilians, including women, children and elderly residents, have been killed during security operations and armed clashes since July 2015,” the group said in a report released on Tuesday, titled “Turkey: Mounting Security Operation Deaths“.
While several such killings have been documented by HRW “in detail” through interviews with relatives and witnesses, “well over 100 civilian deaths and multiple injuries” have been recorded by local human rights activists, the international organization said. A full investigation is needed to determine precise numbers, it added.
“The civilian death toll is likely to rise steeply in the coming days,” HRW warned, citing “unprecedented military deployments to the region” and shelling of whole neighborhoods by Turkish military.
“The Turkish government should rein in its security forces, immediately stop the abusive and disproportionate use of force, and investigate the deaths and injuries caused by its operations,” HRW senior Turkey researcher Emma Sinclair-Webb said.
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