JINHA

ŞIRNEX - Kasım Yana (17) was killed in Cizre's basement which is known as "basement of savagery". As his family returned to their home, they found a burned and demolished home. "They burned my son to death savegely. They burned our home too. But, we will never loss our identity. We will never surrender." said Kasım Yana's mother Saliha Yana.

Many people had been trapped in three basements of Cizre, Şırnak province. These basements are known as "basements of savagery". State forces attacked these basements and killed the people. One of them is Kasım Yana (17). Kasım had been stuck in a basement in the Cudi neighborhood of Cizre due to intense attacks. He had taken refuge in a basement like many other young people. He tried to help the wounded in the basement. He waited the ambulances for days. However, armored vehicles went to basements instead of ambulances. State forces burned him and the wounded to death. Kasım's family searched their son's body in many cities. Finally, they found his body in Antep. Kasım's body was completely burned.

"They burned my son and my home. They sent Daesh members to Cizre to kill us. My son was a child. I raised him devotedly. He didn't have any weapon. He was just a student in high school." said Saliha.

Saliha stated that the state is trying to assimilate them by burning, demolishing and attacking. "We will never loss our identity. We will never surrender. We were born as Kurds. We are Kurds and we will be Kurds. No one can change this. They burned the young people by using chemicals to death."

Güler Yana, grandmother of Kasım Yana, had gone to evacuate the wounded from the basement by carring white flags. However, they had been stopped by state forces. Güler said, "We thought that they would have respected the eldery people. However, the state doesn't respect the eldery people, children, women and humanity. They arrested the mothers who had tried to evacuate their children from the basements. They kill people. They demolish homes. They take eldery people into custody. They kill young people by using chemicals. Shame on the state!"

(ekip/dk/gd)