Police attack people remembering victims of Suruç massacre

Crowds gathered in Turkish capital Ankara and Istanbul to pay tribute to victims of the ISIS massacre in Suruç. Police brutally attacked the commemoration.

At the call of the Federation of Socialist Youth Associations (SGDF), 300 young people gathered at the Amara Cultural Centre to hold a press conference before their departure for Kobanê. The planned trip to northern Syria was intended to be an act of solidarity. The young people wanted to take children's toys and humanitarian aid supplies to the city destroyed by the ISIS. The gathering was targeted by a suicide bomber of the ISIS, which killed 33 people and injured 104 others.

On the fifth anniversary of the massacre, the Initiative of Suruç Families organised a commemoration in capital Ankara. Groups of people gathered in two separate locations, but were attacked by the police. Journalists were also obstructed from covering the crackdown.

Police forces tore down the photos of victims and violently attacked the activists with pepper gas and rubber bullets. While one of the demonstrators had his nose broken, journalists were threatened with arrest in the event of covering the scene. Dozens of people were taken into custody.

In the meantime, the commemoration event in Istanbul was also obstructed and attacked by the police. At least two people were detained during the crackdown with pepper gas and rubber bullets.