ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Kurdish man and his family have been left homeless after Turkish security forces destroyed their house in Rubar village in Turkey’s Kurdish province of Diyarbakir (Amed). The family is now suing for compensation. The two-story house was razed to the ground under the pretext that a man was killed and his body was buried under the property. However, no body was discovered after the house was flattened and examined. It belongs to a citizen named Mahsun Akboga, and was destroyed by Turkish security forces ten months ago. “My children’s mental health has been devastated. Whenever they see shovels or security forces, they are afraid and run away. It was very difficult to build the house,” Akboga told Rudaw. He said that he built the house after selling land inherited from his father to fund the construction expenses. “I said that even if I died, I do not want my children to be homeless, because we did not have a place [to stay], so I sold the land and funded [the construction of] the house,” he said. “However, the state came and destroyed my house and left.” “I am still paying the loans of the house even after it was demolished,” he added. Akboga’s wife, Mulkiye, lamented the family’s situation and said they have not received assistance from the Turkish state, who “flattened our house and turned their backs on us without even asking us.” His youngest daughter Sahar said that her classmates make fun of her due to her homeless status. The Akboga family has filed two complaints to the state to rebuild their house and receive compensation, but the complaints have not led to an outcome.
