ŞIRNAK - Ayşe Yıldırım, mother of Furkan and Muhammed Yıldırım who lost their lives under a riot van who crushed down the wall of their house and ran the children over, commented on the death of Miraç Miroğlu who was also ran over by an armoured police vehicle and said: "Those who murder children in their sleep won't leave those who play in the street alive."

 

Armored vehicles continue to take lives in the cities of the region. In the last 13 years, at least 40 people, including 20 children, have lost their lives as a result of being hit by an armored vehicle. Most of these deaths occured in Şırnak.  7-year-old Mihrac Miroğlu, who was riding his bike on the street of his house in İdil district of the city, on the evening of September 3, died as a result of a speeding armoured vehicle running him over.  While no official statement has yet been made regarding the incident, the policy of impunity in the incidents involving the military and police caused backlash.

 

CHILDREN MURDERED IN THEIR SLEEP

 

Ayşe Yıldırım, who lost her grandchildren Muhammed (7) and Furkan Yıldırım (6) under an armored vehicle that crushed the wall of their house in Karşıyaka District of Silopi on 3 May 2017, also reacted to the latest incident. Stating that her grandchildren were killed in their sleep and her pain is still fresh, the grandmother Yıldırım and said: "They say Kurdish children should not grow up. We didn't allow Furkan and Muhammed to play just outside of our door. I took them to school and back. They were killed inside of our house. Those who killed them were put in jail for 3 months and then they let them go. They are still in the force, doing their 'jobs'.

 

Reminding that the policeman held responsible for the death of his grandchildren was sentenced to 2 years and 1 month in prison, which was converted to 19 thousand TL, Yıldırım said, "They should have been given a life sentence, they should have been in prison for a lifetime. Every time our children go out on the street, armored vehicles kill them. Those who murder children in their sleep won't leave those who play in the street alive. We don't allow our kids to play outside because armoured police vehicles are used as a weapon against them."

 

Expressing her condolences to the Miroğlu family, with whom they shared their grief, Yıldırım continued: "We share the same pain. They say 'Kurdish children should not grow up'. Enough is enough. Let them pull their armored vehicles off our streets."

 

MA / Zeynep Durgut