ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Turkish police have arrested 14 people suspected of smuggling migrants to Greece, including the family of Aylan Kurdi, the Syrian Kurdish three-year-old who drowned on Wednesday.
The Turkish government said the suspects were involved in the death of the little boy, who died together with a brother who was a year older, their 27-year-old mother and nine other people, local media reports said.
News agency pictures of Aylan’s body, seen across the world, evoked widespread shock, bringing home the tragedy of the Syrian war and the thousands of refugees who have been risking lives daily this summer to get from Turkey to the Greek island of Kos.
Meanwhile Sezgin Tanrıkulu, a Turkish MP from the Republican People's Party (CHP), urged parliament to take immediate action against people smugglers, especially those behind the deaths of Aylan and his family.
“Who is responsible for the heartbreaking incidents occurring across Turkey,” said Tanrikulu, demanding an answer on Thursday from Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
Turkish media reports said that the boat carrying Aylan, his family and other refugees had sunk just a few minutes after leaving the coastal city of Mugla in southwestern Turkey, and was discovered by Turkish patrol boat on Wednesday.
Aylan’s death sparked widespread condemnation and a previously unseen outpouring of emotions from world leaders.
Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani issued a statement Thursday condoling the death of the little boy from the Syrian Kurdish city of Kobani.
“The image of the drowned Kurdish child from Kobani is another symbol of the tyrannized Kurdish people in the world,” Barzani said, urging European countries not to discriminate against Kurdish immigrants.
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