A three-month-old baby and her grandfather were killed in crossfire during clashes in the southeastern Turkish town of Cizre, it was reported on Sunday. In the wake of the incident, opposing sides have blamed each other for the deaths and the facts remain unclear.
Increased tensions in the southeast of Turkey have seen curfews imposed and violence erupting between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Turkish security forces.
Medics said that the baby, named as Miray, was shot in the head. Her family noticed that she was still breathing, but while attempting to reach an ambulance her grandfather, identified as 73-year-old Ramazan Ince, was caught in crossfire and later died.
As is normal in cases of civilian deaths in conflict, both sides were blamed for the tragedy.
#PKK kills baby, grandfather in southeast Turkey https://t.co/MAr0rUzApT pic.twitter.com/Xv5asbDEcF
— ANADOLU AGENCY (ENG) (@anadoluagency) December 27, 2015Turkish State Forces Kill 3 Month Old Baby And Grandfather In Cizre: https://t.co/3nysXuUwwc
— Free Kurdistan (@Free_Kurds79) December 27, 2015
Turkey’s state-run Anadolu Agency reported that the PKK shot the baby as she was being held by her aunt on their balcony. The report goes on to claim that the ambulance could not reach their home due to ditches dug in the road, and when they attempted to reach help they were fired upon by the PKK.
Of course, reports from pro-Kurdish sources tell a different story. One version of events detailed on kurdishquestion.com describes how the family were running towards an ambulance waving white flags when the Turkish security forces shot them.
