'Children's right to live, play in a healthy environment is violated'

* Camera footage of the incident (Photo: Social media)

Click to read the article in Turkish

Run over by an armored vehicle in Urfa's Viranşehir yesterday (October 20), 5-year-old N.D. has recovered from death.

The Children's Rights Center of the Diyarbakır Bar Association has released a statement about the issue.

The Center has said that "the fact that armored vehicle crashes have become systematic in the region is that the law enforcement is assured by impunity." It has noted that "armored vehicles stationed on the streets as a result of the state's securitarian policies make living spaces dangerous and violate children's rights to live and play in a healthy environment."

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Urfa MP Ayşe Sürücü has also brought the incident to the agenda by submitting Parliamentary questions to Minister of Interior Süleyman Soylu and Vice President Fuat Oktay.

Referring to the narrow range of vision and lack of pedestrian sensors of armored vehicles, Sürücü has underlined that this type of vehicles should not be on the streets. Noting that "the public conscience has been severely troubled" by what happened, the MP has said that "making a statement to the public about this issue is crucial."

What happened?

An armored vehicle ran over 5-year-old N.D. on the PTT Street in Urfa's Viranşehir in southeast Turkey yesterday (October 20).

The armored vehicle crash happened at noon and the child N.D. was taken to the Viranşehir Public Hospital. The footage of the security cameras near the scene of the incident showed that N.D. was run over by the vehicle with her feet crushed. The paternal uncle of N.D. said that the child was referred to the Mehmet Akif İnan Hospital in the city center. It was later reported that the child was no longer in a life-threatening condition.

20 children died in 10 years

CLICK - Mihraç, Efe, Berfin... 20 children died in armored vehicle crashes in 10 years

According to a report released by the Diyarbakır Branch of the Human Rights Association (İHD), at least 17 children aged between 4 and 17 lost their lives after being run over by armored vehicles in 2008-2019. Since 2019, three more children have died for the same reason.

The Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV-HRFT) also prepared an infographic about the deaths that were caused by the vehicles of security forces and public institutions in Turkey in the last years.

According to the TİHV-HRFT data, 16 people in total, including nine children and one person with disabilities, lost their lives by being run over by the vehicles of security forces and public institutions in Turkey from January 1, 2018 to September 10, 2021. (AÖ/SD)