Seven die in fight between Diyarbakir families over sons allegedly joining PKK

Kurdpress – 18.8.2013 – An argument between two families in the southeastern province of Diyarbakir over the decision of three youth to join outlawed Kurdish militants escalated into an armed clash early yesterday that left seven dead and 10 others injured, Dogan news agency reported.

The fight in the Ciftlibahce village of Diyarbakir’s Hazro district near the provincial center was sparked after one of the families learned that three of its sons had allegedly departed for the mountain camps of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and held the other family as responsible.

Gani Ugurlu accused Omer Tekin, who is reportedly a member of the Peace and Democracy Party’s (BDP) provincial assembly, to have influenced his son and two nephews into joining the PKK.  Members of both families clashed with Kalashnikovs in the early hours of Saturday. Two members of the Ugurlu family as well as four members of the Tekin family were killed in the fight. The seventh victim was not identified. Four of the dead were women. Gendarmerie forces took tight security measures in the village to avoid further clashes, the news agency reported. The three members of the Ugurlu family who allegedly joined the PKK have been missing since August 15, when a demonstration celebrating the anniversary of the beginning of the organization’s armed struggle was held in the province, the report said.