Turkish police officer kills four civilians in Kurdish town

A Turkish police officer deployed in the Kurdish town of Gever in Hakkari Province killed at least four civilians and heavily wounded three others on Saturday according to the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – A Turkish police officer deployed in the Kurdish town of Gever in Hakkari Province killed at least four civilians and heavily wounded three others on Saturday according to the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).

A press release on the HDP website said an armored police vehicle opened fire and targeted civilians in the head in broad daylight, adding one of the wounded was a child.

Imam Tascier, an HDP member of the Turkish Parliament representing Diyarbakir Province, told Kurdistan24 the killings seemed to have been conducted “in execution style” with the victims’ heads specifically targeted with bullets.

One of the victims killed was Serhat Buldan, a nephew of the HDP MP and Deputy Speaker of the Turkish Parliament Pervin Buldan who wrote on Twitter.

The other three victims were Rahmi Safhali, Necdet Isozu, and Aydin Tumen.

“The Governor’s Office has told in calls with us that the incident was a matter of personal misconduct and a technical breakdown of the gun on the police vehicle,” read the HDP press release.

Moreover, the HDP expressed disbelief stating that killing civilians is a matter inexplicable with personal misconduct.

“This is a clear and big provocation. The massacre today is the continuation of curfew policies that have murdered and displaced our civilian population,” the HDP added condemning the incident “with hatred.”

The HDP revealed a September convention of governors of 22 Kurdish-majority provinces in the Turkish Ministry of Interior in Ankara and the last National Security Council meeting two weeks ago were “related” to the killings.

POLICE OFFICER ARRESTED

The central government appointed Hakkari Governor’s Office confirmed the killing of four civilians in a statement on its website, saying the gun on top of the police vehicle opened fire by itself.

The incident took place in the Orman district of Gever around 10:00 a.m. as three police officers were patrolling the neighborhood.

The Governor’s Office revealed that one of the officers is now under arrest.

“Police officer I.M. said in his first interrogation that the mounted gun he was using started to fire by itself, as he did not even touch the trigger,” the Hakkari Governorate claimed.

 

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany