9 years passed since curfew in Şirnex: Wounds still unhealed

2025-03-14 10:02:22


	ŞIRNEX - Although 9 years have passed since the curfew in Şirnex, the wounds of the families who have not received the bodies of those who were killed have still not been healed.

	The curfew declared in Şirnex (Şırnak) on 14 March 2016 lasted 216 days and 111 people, including women, children and health personnel, were killed. During the curfew, 64 thousand people were forcibly displaced from the city. Among the 11 neighbourhoods of the city, Yenimahalle, Bahçelievler, Gazipaşa, Dicle, Cumhuriyet and Yeşilyurt neighbourhoods were completely demolished, while many other neighbourhoods were demolished under the name of "risky areas and urban transformation".

	 

	Şırnak Governorate decided to partially lift the curfew 8 months after it started and announced this decision on its official website on 11 November 2016. On 10 April 2017, the ban was lifted completely.

	 

	According to the reports prepared by the Human Rights Association (IHD) and the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TİHV), no protocols were followed during the removal, protection, autopsy and burial of the bodies. In the reports, it was stated that most of the bodies were buried in the cemetery of orphans without the knowledge of the families.

	 

	Despite the 9 years that have passed since the curfews, the wounds of the families have still not been healed. On the anniversary of the curfews, mothers whose children were murdered talked about their experiences.

	 

	Ayfer Yılmaz lost her son İsa Yılmaz during the curfew. She said that they still cannot forget those days and talked about what they went thorugh 9 years ago. Ayfer Yılmaz said, "We suffered a great victimisation. 5 members of my family and relatives lost their lives. Our children and young people were injured, killed and some of them disappeared. We wanted to enter the city centre but we were not allowed. They showed me my child's body in the hospital. For a long time they told me that the body did not belong to my child. I organised 3 condolences in 1 year, all of them were our children. The only thing that was difficult for me was that our children were in the area where bans were declared. From the first bullet to the last bullet, it was as if all the bullets were hitting our bodies. That process is not forgotten."

	 

	9 YEARS SEARCHING FOR HER DAUGHTER'S BODY

	 

	Leyla Anık lost her daughter Suzan Anık during the curfews but she could not find her body for 9 years. Leyla Anık said, "I have been looking for my daughter's body for 9 years. My daughter disappeared during the curfews. We have not received any news from her. We lost our children, our houses were destroyed. Şırnak has been through very bad days. There are no neighbourly relations left. If my neighbour dies at home, we will not hear about it. In the past, we used to sit in front of the doors, chat, bake bread. We used to move together and have conversations. However, nothing is the same for us as before."

	 

	MA / Ömer Erdoğan