TURKEY, — According to Firat News Agency Four and six year-old two siblings in Aslantepe village, between Cizre and Idil districts of Sirnak found a military object 20 meters away from the military base in the village. While they were playing with the object in order to understand what it was, the object exploded. As a result 6-year-old Rojivan died and 4-year-old Besir got injured.
Rojivan is the 10th children who were killed either by the police or due to unexploded explosive ordnances since April.
It is reported that while Rojivan died at Cizre State Hospital where she was taken after the explosion her brother Besir was taken to Diyarbakir in a helicopter.
While the kind of the explosion remains unknown it is reported that a military base was set up in 1994 where the children were playing. There is a watch tower 20 meters away from the venue where soldier are watching around.
15 children have been killed since 2009
15 children were killed either by security forces or unexploded explosive ordnance since last year. The first victim of these kind of executions by the Turkish police was 14-year-old Abdülsamet Erip who was killed in Hakkari on 23 April [Turkish children’s day festival] after KCK declared a ceasefire.
The last victim before Rojivan was 13-year-old Oğuzhan Akyükrek who died in an explosion on 25 May 2010 around Mustafa Muğlalı Barracks in Ozalp district of Van.
According to the human rights organisations and ANF records while at least 403 children have been killed between 1998-2009. The number of the children who have been killed since the beginning of this year is 10.
The incidents
11 November: Siblings Besir (4) and Rojivan (6) between Cizre- Idil districts found unexploded explosive ordnance in a former military station. While Rojivan died besir got injured.
10 October: 7-year-old Furkan Akçil who was among the protestors in Silopi district of Sirnak was hit by a car while trying to escape the tear gas fired by the police.
6 October: 12-year-old Ahmet İmre was killed by unexploded explosive ordnance which he was found around a military base in Guclukonak district of Sirnak. Another peer of Ahmet was reported to be injured.
29 September: 14-year-old İsa İbrahimzade who was from Urmiye city of the East Kurdistan was killed by the Turkish soldiers on the border in Yuksekova district of Hakkari. Isa was reported to have killed within the Turkish borders on asphalt road.
17 September: 15-year-old Enver Turan was shot dead by a specialised sergeant during a protest held at the first day of Eid.
22 July: 16-year-old Canan Saldık was killed with a bullet hit her head while having picnic in a village around Hacibekir Barracks in Van province.
22 June: 14-year-old Birem Basan who was hit by a police panzer was killed in Sirnak.
25 May: 13-year-old Oğuzhan Akyükrek was killed in an explosion on 25 May 2010 while playing around Mustafa Muğlalı Barracks in Ozalp district of Van. 4 other children were injured. A child claimed that the exploded object was thrown by a soldier in the barracks.
2 April: 14-year-old Mehmet Nuri, student of high school, was shot dead by the Turkish soldiers in Caldiran district of Van province.
23 April: A 14-year-old shepherd İzzettin Boz, was killed by unexploded explosive ordnance which he found while herding his sheep. The ordnance reported to be belonging the Turkish army.