The Children's Commission of the Peoples’ Democratic Party reported that Turkish drones killed 8 children and injured 24 others in August and demanded that perpetrators be prosecuted.
The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Children's Commission Co-Spokesperson Hüseyin Kaçmaz held a press conference at HDP Headquarters about child deaths caused by Turkey’s increasingly ongoing attacks against North and East Syria.
Kaçmaz revealed that 8 children lost their lives, and 24 others were injured in the attacks in August alone, condemning the "anti-Kurdish" policies of the government and the silence of international forces, especially the UN.
8 CHILDREN KILLED
Children who lost their lives as a result of Turkish attacks on North-East Syria during the month of August are as follows:
On August 2, Fehime Resho (17) was killed in Til Rifet.
On August 16, Ehmed Elî Hisên and Aheng Ekrem Hisên were killed in the Sinaa district of Qamishlo.
On August 16, Ebid Mihemed Heci (12) was killed in the village of Zorava in Kobanê.
On August 18, Raniya Eta, Zozan Zêdan, Dîlan Izedîn and Diyane Elo were killed in an airstrike on an UN-supported girls' education centre in the Shemoka village of Hesekê.
“The spokesperson of the Anti-ISIS Coalition confirmed and condemned these attacks. These children were killed in Turkey’s drone attacks. 8 children are reported to have died since the beginning of August alone,” Kaçmaz added.
INJURED CHILDREN
On August 2, Dîna Osman (6), Mehmud Xerîb Mamo (6), Hisên Cemal Qasim (7), Sebah Henan Hemo (10), Avrîn Ebdurehman Heyder (13), Orîvan Mihemed Ebdo (15) were injured in Til Rifet.
On August 9, Mihemed Salih (12), Mirah Selah (12), Îlan Selah (5) and Bilind Mihemed Şemsedin (16) were injured in the village of Sêgirka.
On August 16, Xelîl Jihad Şêxo (2) in Kobanê, Temîm Feysel Hemed (11) in Zirgan, Ehmed Îmad Îbiş (15) in the village of Bene in Afrin Canton’s Sherawa district were injured.
On August 18, 11 children receiving education at the UN-supported girls' education centre in the Shemoka village of Hesekê-Til Temir were injured.
On August 19, Hisên Xelef (13) was injured in a bombing in Shehba's Qeramil, Hasin, Eyn Deqnê, Belûniyê and Til Rifet regions.
Furthermore, 9 people, 3 of whom were children, lost their lives as a result of a Turkish bombardment in the city of Zakho in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region on July 20.
HATRED TOWARDS KURDS
“As a result of the AKP-MHP government's anti-Kurdish policies, these children are losing their lives,” Kaçmaz said.
“The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria has repeatedly confirmed these attacks. Similarly, the Anti-ISIS Coalition reported on the child deaths caused by Turkish attacks. To protest the aggressive policies of the AKP-MHP government against North and East Syria, the Komîteya Zarokan a Qada Civakî li bajarê Qamişlo, consisting of children in Qamişlo, made a press statement denouncing Turkey's attacks on August 7. Can you imagine children making a joint press statement reporting on child deaths?,”Kaçmaz added.
ATTACKS MUST END
“Since August 7, we have witnessed a number of attacks. Neither international organizations nor the AKP-MHP paid attention to the children who protested these attacks. I would like to reiterate here that these attacks must be stopped. I praise the demands of these children who demanded their right to live against the politics of death,” Kaçmaz remarked.
UN’S HYPOCRISY
“The UN’s indifference to the attack on a camp under its control shows the hypocrisy of the UN. We condemn this hypocritical attitude of the UN.”
INVESTIGATIONS SHOULD BE LAUNCHED
“The United Nations and its Security Council should immediately report on child deaths and injuries in North and East Syria. All political parties in Turkey should take a clear stance against these attacks that claim the lives of children. The Turkish Parliament should launch an investigation, and the Children's Rights Sub-Commission under the Human Rights Investigation Commission should convene immediately to address these killings and injuries and step into action to prevent further child deaths. As a member of this commission, I will submit a petition to request the commission to convene,” Kaçmaz said.
INSTITUTIONS ADVOCATING CHILDREN'S RIGHTS SHOULD TAKE STEPS
“Institutions working with children should take action to expose war crimes against children and prosecute the perpetrators. We demand that rights organizations in Turkey develop policies to stop these attacks, initiate an investigation on the matter, reveal the truth and not be a party to the crimes. The peoples of Turkey should defy these attacks directed at children.”
PERPETRATORS SHOULD BE PROSECUTED
“The AKP-MHP government should immediately make a statement concerning 8 children who lost their lives and 24 children who were injured in August. The perpetrators should be exposed and prosecuted immediately. These attacks reveal the official hostility towards the Kurds. The Turkish government, which regards the Kurds as an enemy and commits war crimes, will never be successful through these policies,” Kaçmaz concluded.
