It has been claimed that the bones recently found in Bingöl's Kuruca (Xezik) village belong to 16 villagers who had been detained from Bahçecik, Altınoluk and Sarıcan villages of Karakoçan and Palu districts of Elazığ during the ' Sheikh Said Rebellion, DIHA (Dicle News Agency) reported.

Mecit Yıldız, grandchild of Mustafa Yıldız who survived the massacre but lost his life in late1980s, stated that they determined the place of mass grave via his grandfather's statements.

Yıldız told that; "My grandfather survived the massacre with injuries and he passed away in late1980s. My grandfather and my grandmother were telling us how and where the massacre took place. After the massacre, a group of women came to the scene to find their relatives and collected the bones themselves. The corpses had been eaten by animals and couldn't be identified. They could identify only some from their clothes. They collected all the bones and buried in a mass grave. From that time to now, the bones are there."

Stating that the records of the massacre are still available in Maden district of Elazığ,Yıldız said they will take legal action in order for the investigation of the massacre and the disclosure of the truth on the aftermath of the people. According to Yıldız, villagers are afraid of telling the massacre and have therefore remained silent along the history.

Kübilay Demir, whose grandfather Zülfü Demir was murdered in the massacre, said that; "These 16 people were massacred by the state. According to the estimations, there are 28 people buried in this mass grave. Now, we reached the bones of 16 people. There are some other people here but we don't know their names. Those lying in this mass grave are the martyrs of Kurdistan to us. We will continue our struggle till the very end."

On the other hand, villagers of Kuruca verified the presence of a mass grave in the village and stated that; "Our elder ones were telling us about the massacre. Now, people visit this place as there are martyrs there.”

Some of the villagers claimed to be buried in the mass grave are; Mehmet Yıldız, Süleyman Yıldız, Ali Yıldız, İbrahim Bulanık, Üzeyir Top, Zülfi Çiftçi, Mustafa Güneş, Ahmet Demir, Devreş Üstündağ, Zülfü Demir, İsa Top, Mevlüt Kaya, Hasan Kaya, Süleyman Düzgün, Hacı Beroğlu Mustafa Hacı Bekiroğlu, Hüseyin Xalo's son Yusuf Özçelik."

The relatives of the 16 villagers will apply to Dersim Public Prosecution Office to demand the opening of the mass grave.