The curfew declared by the Turkish state in Mardin’s Nusaybin district on March 14 continues in the 6 neighborhoods in the district with most of the district’s population. The houses damaged during the curfew with artillery from tanks and mortars are being demolished as well as undamaged ones. The demolition has been completed in Zeynelabidin and Kışla neighborhoods while the demolition in Dicle, Fırat, Abdulkadirpaşa and Yenişehir neighborhoods continue. The barbed wire fences surrounding the Zeynelabidin and Kışla neighborhoods haven’t been removed, even though the destruction and pillaging are done. People are not even allowed through to the cemetery in the area.

The sound of dozens of construction machines working simultaneously in four neighborhoods demolished by the Turkish state forces can be heard all over the city. The people try to enter the streets, now turned into open land, and figure out their plots.

DEBRIS TAKES LIVES

The debris taken out of the neighborhoods the state claims are “cleaned” is dumped into an industrial district debris dumping zone. On October 18, Hamit Çevik (23) and Kadri Barak (14) had lost their lives there in an explosion while they were gathering scraps. On August 23, Fehime Kurumaz (12) lost her life while playing in Zeynelabidin neighborhood when an object exploded. Her sister Dilan Kurumaz (13) was injured in her left leg. Most recently, Bayram İlik (44) had lost his life and Gülami Arar (36) and Mehmet Sait Çiçek (19) had been injured in an explosion in the debris piles near the sports hall in İpekyolu on December 6.