Turkey allegedly uses chemical weapons against Kurds

VAN, Turkey (Kurdistan24) – On Friday, Figen Yuksekdag, co-chair of People’s Democratıc Party (HDP) and Van Province member of parliament (MP), accused Turkey’s ruling party of using chemical weapons against the civilian Kurdish population in the town of Cizire.  

Yuksekdag said that "dozens" of people were killed hiding in residential basements in the town and that "chemical weapons were clearly used, yet shamelessly [the AKP] will not claim responsibility for this atrocity.”

Although the MP claims chemical weapons have been used in Cizire, no official evidences have been found or presented thus far.

Yuksekdag arrived in Van ahead of the meeting that will take place in Musa Anter Park tomorrow (March 6) marking the March 8 International Women’s Day activities.

The HDP co-chair added that a "similar massacre" is planned in the besieged Sur district in the large city of Diyarbakir adding, “They want to pressure the powers of peace and democracy. They [AKP] are attempting to besiege these powers.”

“But we will not stay silent to this savagery and atrocity. Our aim is to break through every siege. We are going to resist, refuse and break these sieges,” she asserted.

Yuksekdag further pointed out that AKP and their allies are bringing Turkey to a state of chaos. “We have opened a door for the future and we will not allow that door to close,” she said.

On Dec. 14, 2015, Turkish authorities imposed a round-the-clock curfew on Cizire, near Turkey's frontiers with both Iraq and Syria. The curfew was a bid to root out armed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants who had dug trenches, erected barricades, and declared 'self-autonomy.'

On Wednesday, Turkish authorities scaled down a 24-hour curfew imposed on Cizire, nearly three weeks after declaring the conclusion of military operations there.

Reporting by Hisham Arafat

Editing by Benjamin Kweskin and Karzan Sulaivany