Armed Conflict During Election Works in Urfa

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An armed conflict erupted during the election works in the district of Suruç in Turkey's southeastern province of Urfa yesterday (June 14). The Urfa-based Ajansurfa has reported that four people have been killed in the conflict.

As reported by Ajansurfa, an armed conflict arose between the shop owners in Suruç and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) Urfa MP İbrahim Halil Yıldız together with the group accompanying him. At first, one person was killed and eight people were injured. As the conflict could not be settled, it was stated that three more people lost their lives later in the day.

While it was previously announced that four people lost their lives in the conflict, the Urfa Public Prosecutor's Office released a statement today (June 15) and announced that three people were killed in the conflict. The Office stated that one person who was said to have died yesterday was, in fact, brought back to life after the medical intervention at the hospital.

Dispute turned into an armed conflict

The dispute began when the AKP Urfa MP Yıldız and those accompanying him started to visit the shops in the district of Suruç as part of their election campaign. After a shop owner ordered the group out of his shop, a quarrel erupted between the two sides.

Yıldız and the ones accompanying him left the shop after this incident.

As reported by Ajansurfa based on the statements of eyewitnesses, a group of people went to the shop after this quarrel and raked through the shop with long barreled weapons. The son of the shop owner Esvet Şenyaşar was killed in the shooting.

The relatives of Esvet Şenyaşar then launched an armed attack against the brothers of AKP MP Yıldız. Mehmet Şah Yıldız, the brother of İbrahim Halil Yıldız, lost his life in this attack. His other brothers Süleyman Yıldız, Nihat Yıldız and Mustafa Yıldız were also wounded.

3 attacks were carried out

The police took security measures at certain points of the district in order to prevent further incidents. The wounded were taken to the hospitals in the district and city centers.

However, the incidents could not be settled; a third armed attack was carried out. This time, the attack targeted the wounded in the Suruç Public Hospital.

It has been reported that after the attacks ended, three people from the family of Şenyaşar and one person from the family of Yıldız lost their lives.

Governorship released a statement

Shortly after the incident, the following statement was released by the Urfa Governorship:

"In the incidents that erupted after a dispute between two groups during the election campaign trail of the AKP MP of our province Dear İbrahim Halil Yıldız and the group accompanying him in the Suruç district center on 14.06.2018 around 3.56 p.m. turned into a quarrel, three people, one of whom is a relative of the Dear MP, have lost their lives and nine people have been wounded. Five of the wounded, two of whom are in serious condition, are also the relatives of the Dear MP." (HK/SD)