East Kurdistan citizen Senar Xalibi was killed by Turkish soldiers in Van's Saray district last Wednesday.

According to the reports received, Xalibi and four villagers from East Kurdistan came to the village of Kapıköyü (Heretîl) in Saray district for fuel trade. They were surrounded by Turkish soldiers who detained them as they wanted to leave the village. Xalibi who escaped from soldiers was killed in the glare of publicity.

Villager Hilmi Aygün who spoke to DİHA (Dicle News Agency) about the incident told that; “Soldiers turned the village a warzone. They shot Senar Xalibi as he was trying to escape from them riding his horse. He was shot dead and fell down his horse. Soldiers collected the empty bullet casings and left the village when villagers gathered and reacted to the incident. Soldiers terrorized in the village and all villagers are witness to what has happened here”.  

Another eye witness Mehmet Demiradam, driver of a school bus, said that the incident occurred at around 5.45 in the morning. He told that; “I was picking students up when I heard bullet sounds. I hurriedly took students to their houses and went to the scene where I found Senar Xalibi killed with a bullet that hit him on the back and left from his chest. He was still on the horse. I took him down the horse. The bullets fired by soldiers hit houses as well”.

Demiradam said that the public prosecutor of Saray district arrived at the scene when villagers insisted on not giving Xalibi's body to soldiers. Following the prosecutor's examination at the scene, a large number of people including BDP (Peace and Democracy Party) executives took Xalibi's body to Saray district.

The 26 year old man, father of two, from the Razi village of Xoy city in East Kurdistan, is said to involved in fuel trade and visiting the village regularly for trade.

Hundreds of people in the village marched to the office of district governorate after the incident, calling on the governor to resign and chanting the slogan “murderer governor”.

Soldiers and police forces have surrounded the office of district governorate and reportedly attacked the demonstrators.

According to the figures released by the BDP, 58 people were killed and 75 others were wounded on Van-East Kurdistan border between 2003 and 2013.