"Traitor Soldiers" in Prison, Commander at Wedding

In the indictment of the eight soldiers who were taken hostage after a battle in Daglica in October and later released, it says that "wounded Sergeant Ufuk Cekil and Private Recep Can had reported days before that PKK members were coming closer. The commander refused a request for a helicopter, and the soldiers went on watch without hand grenades."

Absence of commanders

The indictment, which the Taraf newspaper quoted, further said that on the night of the PKK attack, battalion commander Onur Dirik was at a wedding; two squadron commanders were on leave, and another had been told to rest.

According to the indictment, sergeant Halis Cagan told the prosecutor: "After we surrendered, they gathered us at the post, under the flag pole. They searched and questioned us, and we remained there for about half an hour. We saw two helicopters flying above us; then we walked away in single file."

However, battalion commander lieutenant colonel Onur Dirik claimed that the number of dead soldiers was as high as it was because the soldiers disobeyed orders. He also accused Ramazan Yüce of openly betraying his country and his unit and forcing two others to surrender.

PKK seen a month and a half before

The Taraf newspaper cites the soldiers as saying in the indictment that the PKK had been spotted in the area one and a half months before. Three days before the attack, they were seen with nine loaded mules. Again, six hours before the attack it was ascertained that the PKK groups were very active.

When the increase in PKK activity was noticed three days before, a helicopter was requested, but none was sent by battalion commander Dirik.

No helicopter and no hand grenades

Infantry Sergeant Ufuk Celik said in his statement that the Keri mountain was normally guarded by a unit of around 250 people, but that this number had dropped to eighty on 20 October 2007.

He added that the attack hand grenades which the soldiers had were collected because they were to be given defense hand grenades. However, the soldiers were then sent to Keri mountain without any grenades.

According to Celik, every half hour a soldier went into a tent in order to warm up. This is relevant, because Ramazan Yüce, the hostage soldier facing accusations of treason, has been blamed for not fighting when the attack began. (MB/NZ/AG)

* This is a summary of an article which appeared in the Taraf newspaper