Diyarbakir ancient district suffers “irreparable damage” after months of clashes

DIYARBAKIR — The ancient district of Sur in the Kurdish city of Diyarbakir has been “irreparably” damaged by nearly two months of ongoing clashes between the army and guerrillas of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Turkish lawmaker Levent Gök said Friday.

At least seven ancient churches and mosques have been “severely” hit by rockets and bullets, including the iconic 13th century Surp Giragos Church, in a district which contains some 500 historically significant sites, according to head of the tourist association in Diyarbakir.

“History, culture and civilization were hit and destroyed by war and curfews. We are really worried and it must be stopped immediately,” said Kanaan Akso who urged the government to “live up to its promise and restore what can be saved from the chaos,” he told Rudaw.

In late January, Turkish Prime Minster Ahmed Davutoglu said his government would spare no effort to rebuild the destroyed sites in Sur and pledged $9 million for relief efforts in the area.

But lawmaker Gök from the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) told reporters in Diyarbakir, “it is not possible to return it (Sur) to its original state.”

“Sur is not the old Sur and will not be so either. Despite what the Prime Minister said, it is not likely to return it to its old shape,” Gök said and slammed the government for “destroying 80 percent of the buildings” in the district.

Various curfews have been imposed in the Kurdish cities since late November last year as the military and guerrillas went to urban warfare inside townships and cities.

In mid-December 2015, thousands of army and police forces were mobilized to Diyarbakir province and heavy shelling of city districts started which the army said were used to hide PKK guerrillas.

Sur district is located in an area in Diyarbakir, which includes the old parts of the city, on the edge of the Tigris River. Many of the monuments there date back to some 7500 years BC as recent archaeological excavations carried out suggest that the region has been one of the oldest populated areas on earth.

Sur has been an exceptional region in the past, embracing peoples of different faiths, according to city officials.

“The Prime Minster said he would rebuild the district. We say ‘if you don’t destroy it, you don’t need to restore it’,” said Shaaban Orok who manages the old Churches in Sur district.

The military said Thursday, after it announced its operation had completed, it had killed over 800 guerrillas since July last year when the peace agreement collapsed and fighting restarted.

PKK has denied the casualty toll and said many of the victims were civilians. Human rights activists have reported that more than 200 civilians were killed and 200,000 displaced in the last three months.

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