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Turkish soldiers on 18 May reportedly shot Şahap Şendol, a 23 old shepherd and Celil Ekinci, aged 17, in the Derecik district of Turkey’s eastern province of Hakkari (Colemerg), which borders Iraq.
The incident took place at around 07:00 am on Tuesday in a rural area near the village of Hacı Bey. The soldiers on duty along the Turkey-Iraq border reportedly fired on Şendol and Ekinci ‘without warning’.
As both were wounded by the gunfire, they were taken to a hospital in Iraqi Kurdistan. Whilst Şendol was wounded in his hand and released from hospital, the treatment of 17-year-old Ekinci, who was wounded in his stomach, continues.
The Peoples’ Democratic Party’s (HDP) MP for Hakkari Sait Dede announced the incident in his social media posts, sharing the footage that was recorded at the scene of the incident.
Görüntüler yine Derecik'ten, sınır hattında silahsız sivil iki gencimiz askerler tarafından açılan ateşle vuruldu.İmha konseptiyle uyum içinde ilerleyen ve failleri elbirliğiyle koruyarak cesaretlendiren yargıya soruyorum hangi yasalara göre hareket ediyorsunuz,hani yaşam hakkı! pic.twitter.com/RpNzUzwiCJ
— Dr. Sait Dede (@DrSaitDede) May 19, 2021
“The footage is yet again from Derecik: two of our young civilians were shot by gunfire by soldiers along the border. I appeal to the judiciary, which proceeds in accord with the ‘destruction concept’ and encourages the perpetrators by protecting them: Based on what law are you acting, where is the right to live?” asked Dede on Twitter.
It was also reported that the 17-year-old shot by the soldiers is the brother of Reşat Ekinci, who was also wounded by gunfire from soldiers on 31December last year in the same region in Hakkari.
“My young brother crossed into the Federal Kurdistan region on his horse in the early hours of the morning. Then, he saw Şahap Şendol, who is also a relative of us, looking for his animals and he went to help him and crossed the Turkish border. From the station, they opened fire on them without providing any warning as they were heading to the village”, said Reşat Ekinci.
Ekinci stressed that the soldiers aimed at his brother and shepherd Şendol to “kill”: “Both our horses were dead when we reached the scene. They fired to kill. In the first burst of gunfire, the horse of my brother was shot dead, then my brother was shot in his back. The bullet came out of his chest”, he said.
