ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Turkish government's efforts to crush the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in southeastern Turkey is endangering the lives of up to 200,000 residents there, Amnesty International said on Thursday.
The Britain-based watchdog reported that curfews and other measures taken by Turkish security forces are making life very hard in areas under curfew, with Turkish forces in some cases even preventing ambulances from entering.
In one instance, a resident of Silopi, one of the areas under curfew, claimed that they had to keep the body of their relative, killed in a clash between police and protesters, in their home for 12 days before someone could come and collect it for burial.
"Cuts to water and electricity supplies combined with the dangers of accessing food and medical care while under fire are having a devastating effect on residents, and the situation is likely to get worse, fast, if this isn't addressed," explained John Dalhuisen, Amnesty’s Europe and Central Asia Program Director.
Power has been intermittently turned off and on as well. In some cases people have been left without water for up to 20 days.
In the areas under curfew police and the military have been engaged in street battles against the youth wing of the PKK, the Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement (YDG-H).
Heavy-handed measures and use of sniper fire by Turkish forces have, Amnesty reports, killed men, women, young children and elderly people they reason were unlikely involved in actions against the military nor were threatening them.
"While the Turkish authorities can take legitimate measures to ensure security and arrest suspects," Dalhuisen said, "they must comply with their human rights obligations. The operations currently being conducted under round-the-clock curfews are putting the lives of tens of thousands of people at risk and are beginning to resemble collective punishment."
The Britain-based watchdog reported that curfews and other measures taken by Turkish security forces are making life very hard in areas under curfew, with Turkish forces in some cases even preventing ambulances from entering.
In one instance, a resident of Silopi, one of the areas under curfew, claimed that they had to keep the body of their relative, killed in a clash between police and protesters, in their home for 12 days before someone could come and collect it for burial.
"Cuts to water and electricity supplies combined with the dangers of accessing food and medical care while under fire are having a devastating effect on residents, and the situation is likely to get worse, fast, if this isn't addressed," explained John Dalhuisen, Amnesty’s Europe and Central Asia Program Director.
Power has been intermittently turned off and on as well. In some cases people have been left without water for up to 20 days.
In the areas under curfew police and the military have been engaged in street battles against the youth wing of the PKK, the Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement (YDG-H).
Heavy-handed measures and use of sniper fire by Turkish forces have, Amnesty reports, killed men, women, young children and elderly people they reason were unlikely involved in actions against the military nor were threatening them.
"While the Turkish authorities can take legitimate measures to ensure security and arrest suspects," Dalhuisen said, "they must comply with their human rights obligations. The operations currently being conducted under round-the-clock curfews are putting the lives of tens of thousands of people at risk and are beginning to resemble collective punishment."
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