ANKARA, Turkey – The Kurdish district of Cizre in southeastern Turkey resembles a “battlefield,” media reports said, after a second curfew in 10 days was lifted on Monday.
The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) said that 22 civilians were killed in Cizre, where the government imposed a curfew and sent in troops as it continues its war against the rebel Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), reignited in late July after a two-year ceasefire.
A curfew imposed on September 4 was lifted on Saturday, only to be placed back Sunday.
Turkish newspapers on Monday published online photographs after the lifting of the curfew.
The Today’s Zaman newspaper said the operation in Cizre had “left behind a scene resembling a battlefield, displaying traces of days-long clashes” between the military and PKK.
“Hundreds of empty cartridges scattered in the streets and devastated buildings can be seen in the initial photos,” the daily reported.
It said residents ventured out to stock up on groceries and check on their businesses for the first time on Saturday.
“Strict measures were still in place in key areas of the district. Armored vehicles patrolled the streets of Cizre, just north of the Syrian border and close to the border with Iraq, and security forces set up checkpoints on the town's outskirts,” the newspaper said.
Interim Minister of European Union Affairs Ali Haydar Konca was reported as saying over the weekend that more than 20 civilians had been killed during the military operations, which reportedly included heavy weapons.
“The extent of the destruction in Cizre has been revealed by the fact that more than 20 civilians were killed, that approximately 50 were injured, and that many houses were destroyed,” he said.
“Even during times of war, burials are ensured and the injured are allowed to be treated in hospitals. However, this was not the case in Cizre,” he revealed. “This country does not deserve to witness images of children's bodies being kept in freezers to prevent them from decaying.”
Media reports said that the body of a 10-year-old, Cemile Cizir Cagırga, had to be kept in the family freezer for several days, because the curfew and police restrictions made a burial impossible.
The youngster was reportedly killed on Sept. 7, when security forces opened fire on the family’s home.
She died in my arms,” her mother was quoted as saying. “That night, I slept with my daughter's body. The next day, we washed it and put it in a shroud. In order to prevent it from decaying, we had to put her body into a deep freezer at my brother-in-law's house. Her body was kept in this freezer for days,” she said.
Earlier photographs of the child’s body in a freezer caused outrage among the public, opposition politicians and human rights activists.
Media reports quoted the dead girl’s mother, Emine, saying she was deeply offended by Interim Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's claims that no civilians had been killed in Cizre.
“The prime minister should come and see my daughter. How can it be possible for this young child to be a terrorist? My daughter's body was kept in a freezer for days. The whole world should see this and know that my daughter was not a terrorist,” she was quoted as saying.
Mehmet Sait Nayci, 16, was another young victim whose father said his son was shot in the street by police.
“My son died in agony that lasted six hours. If he had been taken to the hospital in an ambulance he would be alive right now. My son was not a terrorist. He had no criminal record,” the aggrieved father told reporters.
Communications, including mobile phone and Internet networks, were restored on Saturday.
There were long queues of people at bakeries and shops, and television footage showed pock-marked buildings and wrecked vehicles in the streets.
