Four village guards were kidnapped by the armed outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the Mezra municipality (Beytüşşebap) on Wednesday evening (7 September). Mezra belongs to the province of Şırnak in the pre-dominantly Kurdish region of south-eastern Turkey. The village guards are said to have been brought to the mountains. Police forces were transferred to the region to rescue the four men. Newspapers reported that a large-scale military operation has been launched in the area.
The number of people kidnapped by the PKK since July rose to 13 with the latest incident. Three soldiers, one health technician, one governor candidate, three workers, one driver and now the four village guards were abducted by the organization that is listed as a terrorist organization by a number of states.
Hasan Ceylan, President of the Human Rights Association (İHD) Siirt Branch, said in a statement on the nine abductions that happened until 6 September that a second delegation was going to be formed for the release of the hostages.
The first delegation was established for the release of the two soldiers and the health technician who were kidnapped on 9 August. It was formed by the Turkish Human Rights Foundation (TİHV), the İHD, the Peace Parliament, the Turkish Medical Chamber (TTB) and Kurdish singer Ferhat Tunç. The delegation addressed both the government and the PKK. (IC/VK)
