JINHA

AMED - As the dust settled on clashes in the Kurdish town of Silvan, Turkey yesterday, the scope of the damage began to emerge.

Violent clashes took place throughout the day on Tuesday in the town of Silvan, located in Diyarbakır province. Locals had declared self-government in the district. To protect their neighborhoods from police, youth attempted to dig trenches and set up barricades at the entrances to the neighborhoods. However, police and soldiers launched an all-out attack on the town.

A curfew was declared in Silvan, where soldiers and police set fire to and opened fire on homes, cars and buildings. Clashes were particularly intense in the neighborhoods of Tekel, Mescit, Konak and Selahattin. Three Silvan residents were killed in the clashes. 10 homes, 15 workplaces, 15 vehicles and nine air conditioner units were also destroyed.

Snipers targeted and killed a young man named Serhat Binen on Silvan Avenue, where damage was particularly intense. Residents reported that soldiers broadcast nationalist songs from armored vehicle speakers as they opened fire on the town and again as, in the wake of the clashes, they filled in the trenches with bulldozers.

Two elderly residents, Hanife Durak (80) and Veysi Toraman (around 60) had heart attacks and died during the clashes. Two young women, Handan Altunterun (20) and Ayşe Topdemir (16) were also shot by snipers while inside their homes. The women have been taken to hospitals in the nearby cities of Batman and Diyarbakır for treatment.

(ch/mg/cm)