Police training drills threaten the health of people in Van

Police using chemical gas bombs during training drills on the outskirts of Van are threatening the health of people who live there, according to experts. Locals say that one day they will have to leave their homes. The Van ÇEVDER (Environmental Association) went to the scene after the training to examine the impact of the drills.

Bazı Aslan from ÇEVDER announced: “We, as Van ÇEVDER, call on the authorities to discontinue their activities. It hurts the conscience to know that such great destruction has occurred in this neighbourhood on the shore of Lake Van .”

Sait Bilmez, a local resident, explained the situation with the following words: “I live in the Buzhane neighbourhood where the gas was exploded. The cops come here and throw gas bombs.”

Bilmez also said that locals cannot stay home during the drills. “We have sick relatives at home, our children go out to play. When gas bombs are thrown here, it turns into a battlefield. You can see this.We as local residents do not want drills to happen here. We even went out to the Governor as residents of the neighbourhood. However, we did not get any results. If this continues, we will have to leave our homes. There must be a solution to this.”