European Parliament Turkey Rapporteur Kati Piri: ‘A Glimmer of Hope’ - My Report From Diyarbakır

Fatma Ates, 55 years. A woman who I won't forget. In this picture she is carried by (journalist) Nazlum Dolan, her husband and her children in a rug. She got injured during fierce fighting between PKK (youth -) militias and the Turkish Army.

These people were stuck for 80 days in Sur, the old town of Diyarbakir in South-East Turkey. It's one of the places that since the resurrection of the decades-old conflict between the PKK and the Turkish Army has become a war zone. No one is allowed in or out of the area since 2 December. And although the majority of people left their homes before the curfew, it is estimated that there are still about 1000-2000 people stuck in sur. Among them, many (injured) citizens and small children.

On Friday I was in Diyarbakir, together with a number of European colleagues. Since my last visit in early December the situation aggravated further. Attacks of the PKK on security forces are now happening on a daily basis. The recent terrorist attack in Ankara where 28 soldiers died has also been claimed by a splinter group of the PKK.

As a reaction, the actions of the security forces are often hard and ruthless. It makes life in these areas impossible. On a large scale, there are serious human rights violations taking place and the desperation of many people's is getting bigger. Meanwhile, the death toll has risen to above the thousand - including, according to experts, more than 200 civilian casualties.

After long discussions with the governor and his deputy, urgent phone calls between Brussels and Ankara, coordination with the local mayors and hdp-members of the Turkish Parliament, there was an agreement: for a period of 1,5 hours, the army would stop shelling so wounded civilians would be able to exit the area. While we were at the office of the governor, severely wounded Fatma Ates was carried out of Sur by her family members. This photo appeared the next day on social media. But once in the ambulance on the way to hospital, she succumbed to her injuries.

Today was her funeral. The F-feeling is predominant. The " What If '- scenarios are constantly running through my head. A few hours before, we had talked to her brother. While the tears rolled down his cheek, he told us about the critical state of his sister. It turned out the helpfor her came too late.

On my way home, I try to calm myself with the knowledge that in the midst of all this misery, five other people have made it to come out of the area safely. For the first time in many weeks people managed to leave Sur alive. I just hope that in the coming days, more people will manage to leave from the basements of bombed buildings.

What happened Friday will give back a little bit of hope. The local politicians and the army have done what they had to do; despite the polarisation and the mutual distrust, they have shown their human side.

The violence has got to stop, and the dialogue must be resumed. We have to do everything to avoid a bloody civil war in Turkey. After all, many lives have already been ruined by this conflict on both sides.