HDP Hakkari deputy Nihat Akdoğan said locals in Hakkari's Gever (Yüksekova) district told him that Turkish forces used chemical gas in civilian areas.

Voicing concerns over the safety of life of Gever people, HDP MP Akdoğan said he called the governor of Şırnak and district governor of Gever numerous times to ask about the allegations of chemical weapon use, but he wasn't answered.

Akdoğan told the following; “The town is under bombardment for 7 days. Announcements are being made from armored vehicles in order for the evacuation of civilians who are, however, not allowed to get out either. Locals from Eski Kışla, Mezarlık and Orman neighborhoods have called us and asked for help as they cannot breathe due to the gas, the kind of which we do not know but it certainly leaves our people in a very difficult position. Some other reports say that 30 to 40 people were killed by chemical gas, and their bodies are completely burned. An elderly mother called and asked us to save them from 'this gas'.”

Pointing to the threat of an imminent massacre against Gever people, Akdoğan said; "Neither the governor nor a military official can endure the responsibility of a savagery that might be committed here. Crimes against humanity do not drop due to prescription."

HDP deputy called upon all political parties and institutions, NGOs and everyone with conscience to break this silence on the ongoing massacre of Kurds.

Local people also told that soldiers participating in the operation were wearing gas masks on their face and oxygen tube on their back. Accordingly, most of the bodies are burned, melted and unrecognizable. 30 such bodies have been found so far.