ARMED CONFLICTS

Two soldiers in the south-eastern provinces of Şırnak and Hakkari died because of explosives.

On 8 May, private Emin Şener died in the town of Uludere in the province of Şırnak in the morning; at around midday sergeant Emrah Aktaş lost his life in the region of Dağlıca in the province of Hakkari. According to information published on the General Staff's list of "anti-terror incidents", both deaths were caused by explosives placed by the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

"You did not take care of my son"

As reported by Radikal newspaper, private Şener's mother Saime Şener lamented the death of her son in Kurdish during the funeral held in the soldier's hometown of Van in the predominantly Kurdish south-eastern region of Turkey. His father Mustafa Şener embraced Gendarmerie Law and Order Corps Commander Lieutenant General Nazım Altıntaş whom he told, "General, you did not take care of my son". Lieutenant General Altıntaş replied, "We took care of him. But he was killed by traitors. I will explain it to you later".

According to Star newspaper, Şener's uncle Mustafa Mahmutoğlu said, "We are not at war with a different country. Brothers are killing each other. Stop this bloodshed".

Dead soldiers in Dağlıca

Another two soldiers died on 7 May in Dağlıca in an armed conflict. Specialist Sergeant Metin Can was laid to rest in his hometown of Kozan in the province of Adana on the eastern tip of the Mediterranean coast. Specialist Corporal Abidin Tanrıkolu was buried in the town of Besni in the south-eastern province of Adıyaman. The funeral was attended by MP Kürşat Tüzmen from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), who was protested by a group of people saying "You are the murderers of the ones who died". (TK/VK)