ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Two groups of the government-affiliated village guards in the Kurdish province of Siirt in southeast Turkey (Bakur) clashed over a land dispute that led to the death of at least two and injury of several others late Friday, according to state media.
The incident took place between the gendarmerie-aligned guards of two Kurdish villages in Pervari (Berwari) district over a land dispute. Two people were killed and three others were injured in the armed clash, reported the state-owned Anadolu Agency (AA) on Saturday.
Siirt Governor Osman Hacibektasoglu arrived in the incident area, added AA.
Demiroren News Agency (DHA) reported four injuries.
It is not clear if the casualties are from the village guards or civilians.
The local hospital where the injured are being treated is guarded by a large number of security forces to avoid an escalation, according to DHA.
An investigation has been launched into the incident.
The Turkish government has been employing village guards in Kurdish areas since the 1980s, using them in the fight against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) inside Turkey.
Suleyman Soylu, Turkish interior minister, said in 2019 that they had a total of 54,007 village guards in 26 provinces.
