TURKEY: Government voices regret over deadly airstrike which killed 35 civilians who were mistaken for kurdish militants

Record ID: 340603

  • Title: TURKEY: Government voices regret over deadly airstrike which killed 35 civilians who were mistaken for kurdish militants
  • Date: 31st December 2011
  • Summary: SIRNAK, TURKEY (DECEMBER 30, 2011) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF VILLAGERS CARRYING COFFINS OF RAID VICTIMS VARIOUS OF COFFINS OF AIRSTRIKE VICTIMS MORE OF VILLAGERS CARRYING COFFINS WOMEN MARCHING VARIOUS OF COFFINS WOMEN MARCHING AND WEEPING VARIOUS OF VILLAGERS WEEPING AND MOURNING WOMAN WEEPING VARIOUS OF COFFINS ISTANBUL, TURKEY (DECEMBER 30, 2011)
  • Embargoed: 15th January 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey, Turkey
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: Accidents,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA895PHQ9SA33CHAK5KGKRQZD04
  • Story Text: Large crowds of mourners attended a funeral on Friday (December 30) for 35 civilians killed in a Turkish airstrike on the Iraqi border.
    The civilians were mistaken for rebel fighters from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and has renewed tensions between minority Kurds and the government.
    The coffins of the dead, most of them young villagers who were smuggling cigarettes and diesel on mules, were lined up in a mosque as relatives sat and wept behind them.
    The incident recorded one of the largest single-day civilian death tolls during the decades old conflict between Ankara and separatist Kurds.
    "Civilians have lost their lives. Military personnel and the civilian authority are all truly saddened by this incident. All necessary investigations will be done with scrutiny regarding this matter," said President Abdullah Gul.
    Breaking his silence over the incident, Erdogan said video recordings of the air raid would be examined and forensic experts would be dispatched to the area for an investigation.
    "Thirty-five citizens have died, one injured. We are truly sorry. Necessary investigations are underway. The situation will be clear after the investigation," he added.
    The attack came at a time when Erdogan has moved to engage Kurds in talks to write a new constitution expected to address long-held Kurdish grievances. The killings have raised tensions with Kurds, a restive minority that inhabits Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran and has become increasingly assertive.
    The incident threatens to ignite more violence from the PKK, which is regarded as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the European Union and the United States. The group has been fighting for an ethnic Kurdish homeland in a conflict that has claimed the lives of 40,000 people.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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