As part of the genocidal attacks in Mardin's Nusaybin district, Turkish state forces have also demolished the cemeteries as they have razed the district to the ground since last year.

Turkish forces have demolished the cemetery that houses PKK martyrs and civilians, and the “Haccac Cemetery” which houses the religious locals that made pilgrimage.

Kurdish mothers Latife Akyüz, Şükriye Çetin and Nure Tarlak, whose children are buried in the demolished cemeteries, spoke to ANF and stated that words cannot express this atrocity committed by the forces of the Turkish state.

Latife Akyüz:

My son is buried in the Haccac Cemetery. My son, Kazım Akyüz (Botan), fell a martyr in the PKK ranks in 1990. They have demolished my son's grave now. I want to ask those savages; which religion or which sect orders the demolition of graves? This has no place in any religion or faith. We will not accept it and nobody should accept it either. The dead were respected during the holy wars even; burial of soldiers would then be allowed and their graves would be treated with respect. These, however, cannot tolerate our dead and funerals even. They are so savage that they will almost exhume our dead and kill them once again. Isn't this a sin? We will not accept it, and we will be after those who have done this.

Şükriye Çetin:

My daughter Adile Çetin fell fighting in the PKK ranks in the 90's. I saw her grave being demolished in a dream, and then I went to visit the cemetery; to see that they had demolished my daughter's grave as well. The grave of my sister-in-law, who had died after giving a birth, is also demolished. They have brought down all the graves in ruins without distinguishing civilians and PKK members.

They have razed everything to the ground, they left neither a grave nor a wall standing. Do these not fear the God? What sort of a humanity is it to bomb the graves of a folk? They have torn down the graves of our martyrs and pilgrims. We wouldn't commit such an atrocity against anyone.

Nurê Tarlak:

All those buried in those cemeteries are our children. Our martyrs, pilgrims, children and husbands lie there. They have torn down all the graves without discrimination. They did this because we are Kurdish. They have razed the entire district to the ground. Was this not enough, now that they targeted the graves as well? Those people are dead. How could they ever bomb the graves and the dead? What has been done to our dead and graves has not been done by anyone else in any other period. My husband Hasan Tarlak is also buried there. They have torn down our graves and not allowed us to visit the cemetery, they drove us away from there. They massacre our children and youths. They tear down our houses and graves. We will say stop to it and we will not let them continue like this. We will not remain silent on this atrocity. They will give an account for what they have done. We will defeat this atrocity that demolishes our graves.