JINHA

ŞIRNEX – For 10 days, a group of wounded citizens have been trapped in a collapsing basement in the town of Cizre, under Turkish state siege. The families of the wounded were denied entrance to the town today as new recordings emerged of the wounded saying they were trapped under debris.

For 10 days, citizens have been attempting to rescue the wounded from a basement in a building in the town. For more than two days, communication with the wounded has been cut. A group of women headed to the building yesterday, among them mothers of the wounded, but were taken into custody by police before entering the house. The women reported that the entrances to the basement were entirely closed off by debris. There has been no word from the wounded for more than two days.

Audio recording from the most recent telephone conversations with the wounded more than 48 hours ago emerged today. Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) representative Meral Danış Beştaş shared the audio recordings at a press conference in Turkey’s capital of Ankara.

In the first conversation, an ambulance worker tells Meral that there is no clash ongoing and that the area is quiet. In the second call, HDP representatives tell the wounded that they have negotiated for the group to be able to exit the building. The representatives tell the wounded to exit the building as a group when they next called, after they confirm with the crisis center. In the third call, the wounded individual asks Meral if any officials are there with her. Immediately afterwards, the sounds of bombs, guns and screams can be heard in the background. The call was cut at 11:41 a.m.

The fourth recording is from more than an hour later, when the representatives were finally able to reach the wounded again. Someone audibly says, “we’re under the wreckage” in the recording. Turkish officials denied a military action on the building during that period.

Meral said that the party was sharing the tapes with the goal of ensuring security for the wounded if they were still alive.

Meanwhile, family members of the wounded set out for Cizre today from the district of Nusaybin, where a vigil for Cizre is ongoing. Police turned the families away at the entrance to the Cizre district, with one police officer ordering those under his command to take an attack position.

HDP Parliamentary representative Ali Atalan called the Ministry of the Interior regarding the police stop.

“Tell the families that their children can come out themselves,” said a deputy undersecretary from the Ministry. The families returned to the vigil for Cizre in Nusaybin empty-handed.

(ekip/gc/cm)