34 villagers died after a bombardment by Turkish warplanes on Roboski village in the Uludere district of Şirnak on 28 December 2011. Evren Encü, İsa Encü and Hikmet Alma, who lost their brothers in the massacre, have issued an appeal, saying: “we expect all those with a conscience to join us in Roboski on 28 December."

Nothing is as it used to be in the villages of Roboskî (Ortasu) and Bûjêh (Gülyazı), in the Qilaban (Uludere) district of Şirnak province after the fateful day of 28 December 2011. 17 of the 34 killed in the bombing were children. The attack took place between 9.30 and 10.30 pm as they returned from the Iraqi border.

A delegation set up by social society organisations established that the massacre had been carried out with the approval of the Turkish General Staff. Three hours before the bombing images had been sent to the Headquarters of the General Staff by unmanned drones. However, despite the perpetrators being known, no one has been prosecuted in the last 2 years.
 
Cihan Encü's brother: The massacre took place with the approval of the Prime Minister

Evren Encü, whose brother Cihan died in the massacre, said: "2 years before the attack I lost my parents. In the massacre I lost my brother, cousin and relatives. We get involved in smuggling because we have no other source of income. It was Erdoğan and the General Staff that approved the murder of my brother. I only want the state to find those responsible."

Celal Encü's brother: we came upon body parts

İsa Encü, whose brother Celal died in the massacre, said the authorities had pressurised them to become village guards in 1993, leading to some of their relatives moving to the town of Zakho in South Kurdistan. He added: "In 1993 we were forced to leave Tarlabaşivillage and moved to Roboski. As we had left our land we had economic difficulties and had to take up smuggling. 11 of my cousins were killed by the Turkish warplanes. As soon as we heard twe dashed to the scene. Only Serhat Encü survived and we couldn't get him to talk. Then we went to look at the bodies. They were in pieces. Not only has the Turkish state done nothing to illuminate the massacre, it also fined us 3 thousand lira for collecting the bodies."
 
Nadir Alma's brother: they tried to gather everyone together

Hikmet Alma, whose brother Nadir died in the massacre: said: “the Turkish state committed a crime against humanity on 28 December at Roboski, adding: “Smuggling is our only means of making a living. On the day of the massacre 38 of our people went across the border. The Turkish authorities knew this because they followed them with drones. On their return the soldiers held the border and fired at them to get them all in one place. Then they were slaughtered by the bombs from the planes."
 
‘Human bodies were all mixed up with animal corpses’

Alma said after the bombing they went to the scene immediately as they feared the state would leave weapons next to the bodies to claim they were terrorists, adding: “When they killed Uğur Kaymaz that is what they did. When we got there we saw the bodies were all strewn together, animal and human. Some of the bodies were still burning."

Alma continued: “The committee investigating the Roboski massacre concealed the documents and did not publish the "Heron" drone images".
 
'It was a deliberate massacre'

Alma emphasised that Prime Minister Tayip Erdoğan and General Staff President Necdet Özer were responsible for the massacre and were trying to cover it up. Their intention was to leave no witnesses, which is why they chose a remote place. Many of the wounded died while being carried on the backs of our fellow villagers. We later learned that ambulances were not allowed in. Their media also made no mention of the massacre for 24 hours."
 
‘If we hadn't killed them we would have arrested them"

Alma added that deputy PM Beşir Atalay had made revealing statements regarding the massacre, saying: "He said: 'If we hadn't killed them we would have arrested them', meaning that they knew what was going on and solicited the attack. On the anniversary of the Roboski massacre we expect all those with a conscience to come to Roboski. Let us all shout together that the AKP government is responsible for the massacre and should be put on trial."