According to a statement that was issued by Turkey’s Ministry of National Defence, a soldier lost his life as a result of a”gun accident” in Ankara.
The Ministry noted in its statement from its social media account that a soldier named Abdullah Paltacı had died after the accident.
— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) December 29, 2020
“As a result of a gun accident that took place in Ankara/Şereflikoçhisar region on 28 December 2020, one of our hero soldiers was injured and martyred despite all the interventions made in the hospital where he was transferred”, the Ministry noted.
However, the death of Paltacı has rekindled the debate about suspicious deaths that have been taking place in Turkey’s armed forces over the past 22 years. 2,500 people who had served in the Turkish army have died suspiciously during that time.
Most of the soldiers who lost their lives have been Alevi or Kurdish. The army has stated that these people either died as a result of ‘accidents’ or ‘committed suicide’. However, the fact that these soldiers were mainly killed in their barracks has been reported by the press on several occasions.