A Kurdish civilian killed during a Turkish military siege on Friday night in the rural neighbourhood of Ortaç (Nenyas) in Lice (Licê), Diyarbakır (Amed), has been confirmed by local residents and family members to have been a civilian. The military operation, involving gunfire and helicopters, targeted private homes and resulted in Yıldırım’s death, leaving the community in turmoil.
Residents assert that the operation commenced around 10pm and continued until approximately 2.20am, with Yıldırım’s body subsequently transported to the Forensic Medicine Institute in Diyarbakır. Though the Turkish Interior Minister made a statement online to the effect that Yıldırım, a father of four, was on a “Grey List” of terrorists, and was involved in a number of “incidents”, locals and his family strongly dispute these allegations, emphasising his civilian status. “We weren’t even officially informed of his death; we found out from social media. It’s inhumane,” lamented one family member.
The aftermath of the operation saw Yıldırım’s family, supported by local civil rights groups, gathering outside the Forensic Medicine Institute in Diyarbakır, awaiting the return of his body. The family’s ordeal highlighted the broader implications of Turkey’s military operations in Kurdish-majority areas, which often revive painful memories of the violent suppression of the 1990s.
Independent journalist Medine Mamedoğlu also reports that during the siege a 15-year-old boy was used as a human shield while his mother was held by soldiers for several hours with a gun to her head.
Sultan Yaray, co-chair of the Democratic Regions Party (DBP), criticised the operation as an attempt to instil fear among the Kurdish population. “These actions are not just an attack on individuals but an assault on our collective memory and rights,” she said.