PM Barzani ‘strongly condemns’ murder of KRI citizens in Turkey

Extending his condolences to the victims’ families, Barzani strongly condemned the “crime”.
The KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani speaks during for Al-Jazeera, April 27, 2021. (Photo: KRG)
The KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani speaks during for Al-Jazeera, April 27, 2021. (Photo: KRG)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Thursday “strongly condemned” the murder of four citizens of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region in Turkey, calling on the country’s authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice, according to a statement.

Extending his condolences to the victims’ families, Barzani strongly condemned the “crime”.

“We ask Turkey to identify the motives behind the attack as soon as possible and bring the perpetrators to justice,” according to a statement from the government.

At least four people were killed in the attack on the Mersin-Merdin road in southeast Turkey on Wednesday overnight.

The victims, three women, and two men were traveling in a black-colored car with an Iraq-Duhok license plate. 

The relatives of the family, speaking to Kurdistan 24, said the belongings of the victims were “untouched”, showing no signs of a robbery. A number of the relatives have traveled to the city to collect the bodies and monitor the investigation. 

Officials of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) are in contact with their Turkish counterparts regarding the murders and coordinating on the repatriation process of the bodies.

This is not the first time Kurdish tourists have been attacked in Turkey. Previously, a number of tourists from the Kurdistan Region were attacked in the resort town of Trabzon, for wearing a Kurdish flag-designed scarf in 2019. Last year, three other tourists were similarly attacked.

Turkey is a popular tourist destination for Iraqi Kurds—every year hundreds of thousands of them vacation in my parts of the country.