The last house left standing among the TOKİ buildings that have risen over the basements where dozens of people were burned to death during the curfews in Cizre is to be torn down.

The article the Mesopotamia Agency ran on the subject is as follows:

Construction for the TOKİ housing units started months ago and continue still in the area where the basements where dozens of people were burned to death during the curfew declared between December 14, 2015 and March 2, 2016 in Şırnak’s Cizre district are located. Dozens of burned bodies that have lost bodily integrity have been excavated from the area where all but one of the houses left standing had been evacuated and torn down during last month.

The police and owners of the subcontractor company have issued an evacuation notice until Monday for the last house left standing among the still rising TOKİ buildings. The Elçioğlu family, with 21 members, are resisting so the house they settled in right after the curfew doesn’t get demolished and are protesting the matter.

“FAMILIES WHO EVACUATED THEIR HOMES ARE REGRETTING IT”

Xezal Elçioğlu said they repaired their damaged home and it cost them a lot of money, and added that they haven’t signed the petitions presented to them by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanism. Elçioğlu said officials from the company that won the bid for the TOKİ housing and the police are warning them to leave the house, and continued: “But we haven’t left. Many families who did sign the petitions they were given now regret doing so. The number of families diminished in time. Lately there were only 3 families left, and they forced out two of them.”

“WE CAN’T FIND HOUSES TO RENT”

Elçioğlu stressed that they have constantly been subjected to threats like, “If you don’t sign, you will lose the land as well, and you will receive none of your money back,” and said: “Two days ago, the police came to our door and told us to leave the house. They told my husband that they would dig a trench by our entrance and then we wouldn’t be able to go out.” Elçioğlu said they have been looking for a rental for a long time, just in case, and added: “This last week I searched all around the city. Nobody would rent us a house. They don’t want to rent because we have a lot of people in the family. Where are we supposed to go?”