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UN human rights chief voices alarm over alleged violations in southeast Turkey

Xinhua, May 10, 2016 Adjust font size:

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein has urged Turkish authorities to grant access to independent investigators into south-eastern parts of the country following violations allegedly carried out by the country's military and security forces.

"The picture that is emerging, although still sketchy, is extremely alarming," he highlighted in a statement on Tuesday.

Since a two-year ceasefire between the government and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) disintegrated last July, Turkish security forces have launched a major campaign against the latter in southeast Turkey, leading to the deaths of over 260 government troops and thousands of PKK members.

While condemning violent acts attributable to groups and non-state agents linked to the PKK in Cizre and other areas, Zeid urged authorities to respect human rights at all times when conducting security operations.

This implies abiding by international law prohibiting torture, extrajudicial killings, disproportionate use of lethal force, and arbitrary detention.

Zeid's comments come as reports emerge showing unarmed civilians, including women and children, being purposely shot by snipers and gunfire from military vehicles.

Civilian infrastructure has also been targeted, compounding a situation which has triggered mass displacement in many south-eastern areas.

"Most disturbing of all are the reports quoting witnesses and relatives in Cizre which suggest that more than 100 people were burned to death as they sheltered in three different basements that had been surrounded by security forces," Zeid highlighted.

Turkish authorities have failed to respond positively to requests by the high commissioner's office and other United Nations bodies to conduct fact-finding missions in the region, according to the organization.

"In 2016, to have such a lack of information about what is happening in such a large and geographically accessible area is both extraordinary and deeply worrying," he concluded. Endit