The Amed (Diyarbakır) Branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD) has released its report on deaths in the Kurdish region caused by vehicles used by soldiers and the police. The report noted that 5-year-old Erdem Aşkan lost his life after he was hit by a vehicle driven by a specialized sergeant in the Gever (Yüksekova) district of Hakkari province on June 7.

In a reference to the "Report on Violations of the Right to Life Due to Armoured Vehicle Crashes" published by the IHD in July 2019, the report said that further deaths and injuries have been recorded in the Kurdish region since.

'44 people killed'

The report continued: “With the death of Erdem on June 7, 2023, a total of 44 citizens, including 21 children, lost their lives in 82 crashes involving armoured vehicles and vehicles under the control of the law enforcement, while 94 citizens, 23 of whom were children, were injured in Kurdish cities in the last 15 years.”

The report emphasized that killings by vehicles were not independent of the Kurdish question. It added: “Due to irregular use of armoured military vehicles in Kurdish cities that experience violence and conflicts related to the Kurdish question, crashes have become common and continue to violate the right to life."

IHD listed their demands as follows:

*Removal of armoured vehicles, the employment of which is noncompliant in areas of social life in accordance with scientific reports, from civilian settlements;

* Disincentive measures against violations by law enforcement officers serving in the region, caused by careless driving that endangers citizens' right to life;

*Effective judicial and administrative investigations against law enforcement officers involved in crashes that caused deaths and injuries.”