The number of people killed by Turkish soldiers on Sunday after they opened fire on a vehicle carrying Afghan migrants, has risen to three, Remzi Budancır of +Gerçek reported citing local sources.
It was previously reported that a four-year-old child, was killed in the incident in Turkey’s eastern district of Saray in the province of Van (Wan).
Co-chair of the Association of Serhat Migration Research said after speaking to eyewitnesses that the Van Governorship’s claim that only the tyres of the vehicle were targeted was not true.
Citing eyewitnesses, Gülşen Kurt told +Gerçek that the soldiers continued to fire at the vehicle even after the driver had taken a turn into a cul-de-sac, and the vehicle had come to a halt. She added that the sides of the vehicle was riddled with bullets.
According to another report, the residents of a house on the cul-de-sac were placed in imminent danger as soldiers continued to fire.
Resident Hamide Can, a mother of two, said to Ruşen Takva of T24 that her children were playing outside during the incident.
“I have two daughters. I managed to save the younger one by grabbing her and wrapping her in my skirt,” she said.
The head of the neighbourhood, Kemal Tosun, told Mezopotamya News Agency that the four-year-old child was shot in the heart and belly, and was still alive when he was taken out of the vehicle.