Turkish soldiers conducted two separate operations against the Bukec (Ashqan) neighborhood of Van’s Gurpinar district on April 25 and May 1. Neighborhood residents were subjected to insults during the operations and all residents of the village were forced to stand waiting for hours in the village square in the first operation. Soldiers confiscated some of the food supply and another part of the supply was thrown in the Nordiz river.

SOLDIERS CLAIM PEOPLE’S SUPPLIES WERE CONFISCATED IN BUNKERS

Soldiers dropped from 9 Skorsky helicopters to the Bukec neighborhood on April 25 surrounded the neighborhood. Abdurrahman Dik was arrested on an outstanding arrest warrant and was made to wait one day in the former outpost which doesn’t have a roof.

Soldiers made the whole village stand and wait in the cold for hours in an operation conducted on the same day. Their phones were confiscated and the soldiers gathered the food supplies of the villagers in the middle of the square after 36 hoursof blockade, and claimed in the media that it was “equipment confiscated from bunkers”.

Kinyas Gencer spoke to the Mesopotamia Agecy (MA) and said the soldiers cursed at them and insulted them. Gencer continued: “We couldn’t feed our animals from dawn to dusk. Everything they claimed was the PKK’s actually belonged to the people.”

ANIMALS DEAD, FOOD SUPPLIES BURNED DOWN

In another raid yesterday, M. Kasim Kocak (45) and Menav Kocak (55) were detained for outsanding arrest warrants.

Detainees are being held in the gendarmerie district command in Gurpinar while Haliya Kocak, another resident whose door was kicked down, said soldiers slapped his son as they were searching the house.

Two of Fevzi Kocak’s lambs died in the barn bceause they weren’t allowed outside. Kocak said: “Our village was raided. They insulted us and broke down our doors. They detonated our butane bottles. They scattered huge bags of sugar and salt.

HOT WATER TORTURE

Turkish soldiers slapped Mehdi Kocak (19), who said he was slapped when the soldiers raiding their home asked him about Sabri Kocak and immediately slapped his face when he said he didn’t know. Kocak was later kicked in the face.

Ferhat Gencer was also battered, and said he was kicked and punched in his neck and back several times. Gencer added that a soldier poured a thermos full of hot tea on him when he said he didn’t know the answers to the questions he was asked.

The soldiers also burned down HDP flags and posters of HDP Co-chairs Pervin Buldan and Sezai Temelli in the raid yesterday.