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ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The Turkish army killed a young man, believed to be the descendant of a renowned Kurdish leader, in the eastern province of Dersim (Tunceli) during clashes with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on Saturday, his father has told local news outlets.
Murat Yildiz went out to collect mushrooms in Dersim’s Ovacik district on Saturday after receiving permission from Turkish authorities, as public access to nearby areas is prohibited due to regular clashes between the army and the PKK, his father Mazlum told Pirha news outlet on Sunday.
Murat was unaware that he was followed by a Turkish drone, he added, which then bombed his vehicle. “It was done on purpose. They surveilled and followed my son. They did it [attack him] after they found out that there was another passenger in the vehicle,” his father said.
Some people claimed that Yildiz was carrying three PKK fighters in the vehicle.
The Turkish interior ministry said in a statement on Friday that their forces killed three PKK fighters in the same district during clashes with the group, the state-owned TRT Haber reported.
Yildiz’s family has reportedly said that Turkish commanders had told them they bombed their son’s vehicle because it carried PKK fighters.
Arti Gercek news outlet reported that Yildiz is a descendant of Seyit Riza - a Kurdish-Alevi leader who led a Kurdish rebellion against the Turkish state in the 1930s. The state killed tens of thousands of Kurds in their brutal campaign in 1937. The massacre is commemorated annually on May 4.
Alican Onlu, a parliamentarian for the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) for Dersim, said in a tweet on Sunday that he visited Murat’s family, blaming the Turkish state for the death of the young man and his ancestors, referring to Seyit Riza and the Dersim Massacre.
The PKK is an armed Kurdish group, fighting for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey. Ankara considers it a terrorist organization and a threat to its national security. Turkey frequently carries out military operations against the group at home and outside the country.
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