The co-chair of the pro-Kurdish HDP, Demirtaş walks with his party members to the town of Cizre on Thursday. (Photo: Reuters)
Residents are living in dire conditions due to the constant gunfire and explosions that have destroyed many homes in the tense district of Cizre in southeastern Şırnak province, which has been under curfew for a week with a delegation of ministers and lawmakers being prevented from entering by authorities.
According to media reports, heavy weapons are being used in the ongoing fighting between security forces and PKK terrorists in Cizre, where many homes have been destroyed due to explosions. The number of casualties has been increasing day by day, the reports say.
The delegation made up of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), which includes the party’s leader, Selahattin Demirtaş, two ministers and dozens of lawmakers, is being prevented by security forces from marching towards Cizre to make first-hand inspections in the district.
The delegation set off on Wednesday to reach Cizre, which no one has been able to leave or enter, amid clashes between security forces and the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The HDP delegation consists of Development Minister Müslüm Doğan, European Union Affairs Minister Ali Haydar Konca, HDP leader Demirtaş and around 30 deputies.
After being intercepted by security forces on their way to Cizre, the delegation left their vehicles behind and continued on foot on Wednesday, in order to draw attention to the violent incidents in the district.
The delegation spent Wednesday night in Şırnak’s İdil district and attempted to continue their march to Cizre at about 4 a.m. on Thursday. The delegation was stopped by armored vehicles and water cannons on the Midyat-İdil road.
Citing an order from the Şırnak Governor’s Office, the security forces said they were ordered to block the road. The HDP delegation then left the road and attempted to walk to Cizre via a mountain path.
After walking about a kilometer, the delegation was stopped by riot police. Media reports say that a scuffle erupted between the riot police and lawmakers in the delegation, with several police officers pushing the lawmakers back with their riot shields during the scuffle.
Demirtaş voiced objections to the riot police, saying that the police cannot stop them because where they are marching is not under the jurisdiction of the police, but the authority of the gendarmerie.
The tension between the police and the delegation members lasted for several hours in the mountainous area between Şırnak’s İdil and Cizre districts. Finally, the delegation decided to return to İdil.
One member of the delegation, HDP İstanbul deputy Garo Paylan, shared photos on his Twitter account and said the police had blocked the group from entering Cizre. A journalist named Fuat Yaşar also shared photos on his Twitter account and claimed that the police assaulted the deputies and that several special operations teams were deployed in the area.
Demirtaş: Cizre locals cannot meet their basic needs due to curfew
Commenting on the police barricade against his party’s delegation, Demirtaş said on Thursday that the aim of the march is to put an end to the fighting in Cizre and create a peaceful atmosphere in which the residents will be able to meet their daily needs.
Referring to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s earlier statement that the curfew in Cizre has been applied just for several hours a day, Demirtaş said that Erdoğan is mistaken or being misled about the issue, assuring that the curfew in Cizre has been implemented 24 hours a day.
A curfew is normally applied at night, but the curfew in Cizre is in force for the whole day.
Demirtaş also said that the corpses are being cooled with ice because their burial is being forbidden, adding: “There is no [drinking] water, food or bread. There are injured people, but the ambulances are banned from entering the district. The district has been under a blockade for eight days. … Thus, we want this unlawful practice to be ended.
“The curfew should be lifted, people should be allowed to meet their daily needs and bury the bodies of their relatives. There are even babies among those killed. Our friends shared information from the district: There are dead bodies of babies, but it is not being allowed for them to be buried. I request Mr. President to reconsider the issue from that perspective with due sensitivity.”
There were photos circulating in the Turkish media that showed the body of a 10-year-old girl in a deep freezer in Cizre. The girl was identified as Cemile Cizir Çagırga, who died from a gunshot wound while inside her family home in the Cudi neighborhood of the district.
Communication has been cut in the area and basic requirements such as food and water are scarce. According to the reports, the accumulated garbage and frequent water cuts pose a serious health risk.
Seven men who have been stuck at their workplaces at the entrance to Cizre for over a week due to the curfew and the clashes spoke to a Cihan news agency reporter, saying they have not heard any news from their families who live in the Nur and Cudi neighborhoods of Cizre.
One of the men, Fahrettin Ecer, says they are watching the fighting from the windows, adding: “My wife and children are in the Nur neighborhood. We are stuck here. They [the Turkish security forces] won’t allow us to leave. We are not able to get any news about our families. I am going crazy. I no longer even have the strength to stand.”
Another of the men, Mehmet Çağlı, told Cihan: “We have been in a kind of torture for over a week here. I watch our homes being bombarded in the clashes from the window. … If this goes on like this, I will risk my life and leave here.”
Minister says HDP delegation not allowed to enter Cizre
Interior Minister Selami Altınok made a statement on Thursday in which he provided figures about the clashes in Cizre, saying that nine civilians have died during the fighting but also claiming that the security forces have taken measures to protect civilians.
Altınok also said security forces have killed 32 PKK terrorists during the confrontations in the district, adding that the ministry is planning to lift the curfew in the district as soon as possible.
The interior minister added that the ministry will not allow the HDP delegation to enter Cizre for their own safety.
However, HDP Şanlıurfa deputy Leyla Güven — one of the lawmakers in the delegation — told the media on Thursday that eight people, including a child, were killed during the clashes on Wednesday night alone.
In addition, HDP parliamentary group chairman İdris Baluken said during a press conference in Parliament on Thursday that more than 20 civilians have been killed in the past week in Cizre.
Truck drivers attempt to pass Turkey’s Iraqi border to join march to Cizre
About 500 truck drivers left their trucks in northern Iraq and started to march towards from the border town of Zakho in northern Iraq towards Cizre, which is located at the southeastern part of Turkish border with Iraq, on Thursday to protest the weeklong curfew. When the drivers attempted to enter Turkey by illegally crossing the border, the Turkish gendarmerie forces opened fire on them on Thursday afternoon.
According to the Doğan news agency report, four truck drivers, who were holding up white flags while passing the border, were injured during the gunfire. The news agency also stated that 50 truck drivers were able to pass the border, while the others gave up their attempt and returned to Zakho.
However, the HDP claimed via its Twitter account on Thursday that two truck drivers were killed and three were injured when the gendarmes opened fire on the drivers.
The curfew in Cizre was declared by the Şırnak Governor’s Office in response to an increase in terrorist incidents in Cizre.
A statement released by the governor’s office last week said a curfew was declared in the district to ensure security in the wake of increasing terrorist incidents in the area and to capture members of the PKK who were involved in violent acts. It also said the curfew would be in place until further notice.
Source: ZAMAN