JINHA

ŞIRNEX – In a basement in the Sur neighborhood of the besieged town of Cizre, 20 have been burned to death and 25 wounded residents are facing execution at the hands of state forces. Derya Koç, among those trapped in the basement, reports that the wounded are unable to breathe as police fire tear gas into the basement.

A third “basement of savagery,” where civilians are trapped in a basement by state attacks, has come to light in the town of Cizre today. Police attacked a building where 45 wounded were trapped in the Sur neighborhood today. As the upper stories of the building collapsed from tank fire, police spread gasoline around another area of the building and lit it on fire. 20 of the wounded died in the resulting fire.

Derya Koç, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) former district co-chair for the western Turkish district of Milas, is among those trapped in the basement. Derya was able to speak on the phone again today. Derya said that the ongoing artillery and grenade fire on the building has caused the walls to collapse, leaving the wounded trapped under debris. Derya also reported that police have fired tear gas into the basement, leaving the wounded unable to breathe.

Derya, despite her difficulty speaking due to the tear gas, reported that one of the wounded in the basement is in extremely serious condition. The wounded have unable to find any material to stop the breathing.

“We can’t breathe,” said Derya. “Most of the wounded have wounds in their arms and legs. One of our wounded friends has lost an eye. The seriously wounded will die if they do not receive medical attention.”

Derya also noted that the police firing tear gas into the basement are playing the Ottoman military march from their armored vehicles. She reported that she had to hang up, as the gas was making it impossible for her to breathe.

(ekip/gc/cm)