Armed attack on DEM Party office in Urfa

An armed assault last night targeted the district office of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party in Birecik, Urfa, a Kurdish-populated southeastern province.

The perpetrator of the attack has been revealed as Halil Begit, the brother of Mehmet Begit, who had resigned from the DEM Party after being elected as the mayor of Birecik in the March 31 local polls. Begit was taken into custody today.

Halil Begit allegedly threatened DEM Party district executives via WhatsApp messages on May 7, according to a report from the pro-DEM Party Yeni Yaşam newspaper. The threatened executives promptly filed a criminal complaint against Halil Begit.

DEM members and supporters gathered outside the party office today to denounce the attack. Demonstrators expressed their determination to stand against what they described as a "traitorous, usurping, and gang-like mentality."

During the demonstration, Hasan Yıldız, co-chair of the DEM district organization, said, “Those who dared this [assault] don’t know about our party’s history of struggle. Our democratic tradition of politics and struggle has never tolerated this type of gangs and it will not tolerate it in the future.”

The attack on the party office resulted in damage to the building, with 14 bullets hitting the windows. (TY/VK)