List of assassinations of the Kurdish Workers' Party insurgency

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

This is a list of assassinations of the Kurdistan Workers' Party insurgency, usually carried out by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) or the security forces of Turkey.

Date Target Attacker Location Result Casualties Comment
30 July 1979 Mehmet Celal Bucak PKK Hilvan, Şanlıurfa, Turkey Assassination failed 5 killed, 2 wounded Bucak was a Kurdish tribal leader and a member of the Turkish parliament. He was injured with his son when PKK militants under Cuma Tak tried to assassinate him.[1][2]
22 October 1988 Esat Oktay Yıldıran PKK Ümraniye, Istanbul, Turkey Assassination successful 1 killed Yıldıran was a Turkish military officer who was responsible for torturing inmates in Diyarbakır Prison. He was shot dead on a public bus by a PKK militant.[3][4]
7 July 1991 Vedat Aydın Turkey Maden, Turkey Assassination successful 1 killed Vedat Aydın was a leader of the Peoples' Labour Party and the Turkish Human Rights Association.[5]
24 February 1992 Cengiz Altun Turkey Istanbul, Turkey Assassination successful 1 killed On 24 February 1992 Yeni Ülke journalist Cengiz Altun was assassinated. He had previously received death threats, and had written an article on the Counterguerrilla in the 2–8 February issue.[6][7]
31 July 1992 Yahya Orhan Turkey Istanbul, Turkey Assassination successful 1 killed Journalist Yahya Orhan, who wrote for Özgür Gündem and Yeni Ülke, was assassinated on 31 July 1992.[8]
20 September 1992 Musa Anter Turkey Diyarbakır, Turkey Assassination successful 1 killed, 1 wounded Anter was shot at a festival in 1992 by Turkish JITEM, in an incident in which the politician Orhan Miroğlu was seriously injured.[9][10][11][12][13]
18 February 1993 Kemal Kılıç Turkey Istanbul, Turkey Assassination successful 1 killed Kemal Kılıç, a former correspondent for Özgür Gündem then writing for Yeni Ülke, was assassinated on 18 February 1993.[14]
4 September 1993 Mehmet Sincar Turkey Batman, Turkey Assassination successful 2 killed Mehmet Sincar was a politician of the Democracy Party investigating the murder of Vedat Aydın.[15]
4 September 1993 Metin Özdemir Turkey Batman, Turkey Assassination successful Included above Metin Özdemir was a politician of the Democracy Party investigating the murder of Vedat Aydın.[15]
6 July 2005 Hikmet Fidan PKK Bağlar, Diyarbakır, Turkey Assassination successful 1 killed Hikmet Fidan who worked as the senior general chairman for a long time in HADEP before the party was closed, was shot to death with a silencer in front of a building in Turkey.[16]
17 July 2005 Hasan Özen PKK Vienna, Austria Assassination successful 1 killed PKK's representative of Austria; Hasan Özen was assassinated. Özen was against of Abdullah Öcalan's declarations and he wanted to leave the organization.[17]
12 February 2006 Kani Yılmaz PKK Iraqi Kurdistan Assassination successful 2 killed PKK's former representative of Europe, Kani Yılmaz was assassinated by a bomb that was put into his car on 12 February. Yılmaz was burned to death in the car with a former PKK militant Sabri Tori.[16]
9 January 2013 Sakine Cansız Turkey Paris, France Assassination successful 3 killed Sakine Cansız was one of the co-founders of the PKK. She was shot dead in Paris, on 9 January 2013, with two other female Kurdish activists, Fidan Doğan and Leyla Söylemez.[18][19][20]
9 January 2013 Leyla Söylemez Turkey Paris, France Assassination successful Included above Leyla Söylemez was an area manager of the PKK youth organisation. She was shot dead in Paris, on 9 January 2013, with two other female Kurdish activists, Sakine Cansız and Fidan Doğan.[21]
9 January 2013 Fidan Doğan Turkey Paris, France Assassination successful Included above Fidan Doğan was a Kurdish activist, who worked at the Kurdish information centre in Paris and also represented the Brussels-based Kurdish National Congress in France. She was shot dead in Paris, on 9 January 2013, with two other female Kurdish activists, Sakine Cansız and Leyla Söylemez.[22]
22 July 2015 Okan Acar PKK (alleged by Turkey) Ceylanpınar, Şanlıurfa,Turkey Assassination successful 2 killed On 22 July 2015, two police officers (Okan Acar and Feyyaz Yumuşak) were assassinated by unidentified men. Soon after, 9 Turkey Kurds were anonymously denounced as the killers, arrested and accused of assassinations under PKK orders. Authorship was first claimed by PKK's armed wing HPG, describing it as a retaliation following the prior 2015 Suruç bombing.[23][24][25][26]
22 July 2015 Feyyaz Yumuşak PKK (alleged by Turkey) Ceylanpınar, Şanlıurfa,Turkey Assassination successful Included above On 22 July 2015, two police officers (Okan Acar and Feyyaz Yumuşak) were assassinated by unidentified men. Soon after, 9 Turkey Kurds were anonymously denounced as the killers, arrested and accused of assassinations under PKK orders. Authorship was first claimed by PKK's armed wing HPG, describing it as a retaliation following the prior 2015 Suruç bombing.[23][24][25][26]
3 October 2015 Haci Lokman Birlik Turkey Şırnak, Turkey Assassination successful 1 killed Lokman was killed and his corpse tied with a rope to a police car and filmed by the police while being pulled through the streets of Şırnak. Lokman was the brother-in-law of HDP deputy Leyla Birlik.[27][28]
28 December 2015 Tahir Elçi Turkey (assumed) Diyarbakır, Turkey Assassination successful 1 killed President of the Diyarbakır Bar Association, who litigated against Turkey at the European Court of Human Rights.[29]
14 September 2016 Ahmet Budak PKK Şemdinli, Hakkari, Turkey Assassination successful 1 killed Ahmet Budak was a politician for AK Party. He was killed in front of his son with a pistol when 3 PKK members including a child attacked him.[30][31][32][33]
22 September 2016 Halit Benek PKK Mazıdağı, Mardin, Turkey Assassination failed None (+1 perpetrator killed) Halit Benek was governor of Mazıdağı District for AK Party. A PKK member tried to assassinate him on 22 September with a pistol and a grenade but the assassin was shot death by police.[34][35]
10 October 2016 Aydın Muştu PKK Özalp, Van, Turkey Assassination successful 1 killed Aydın Muştu was vice governor of Özalp District for AK Party. He was killed by PKK members in front of his house on 10 October.[36][37][38]
11 October 2016 Deryan Aktert PKK Dicle, Diyarbakır, Turkey Assassination successful 1 killed Deryan Aktert was vice governor of Dicle District for AK Party. He was killed by PKK members on 11 October.[39][40]
9 November 2016 Ali Boutan Turkey Qamishli, Rojava, Syria Assassination successful 1 killed Commander of Anti-Terror Units.[41]
10 November 2016 Muhammed Fatih Safitürk PKK Derik, Mardin, Turkey Assassination successful 1 killed, 1 wounded Muhammed Fatih Safitürk was governor of Derik District. He was assassinated by PKK via a bomb in his office. He was critically wounded and died of wounds the day after the attack. His personal chauffeur was also injured but survived.[42][43][44][45]
17 December 2016 Turan Bedirhanoğlu PKK Şırnak, Turkey Assassination failed 1 wounded (+1 perpetrator wounded) Turan Bedirhanoğlu vice governor of Şırnak for AK Party. The Turkish Intelligence was aware of a planned assassination before the planned date and took measures. Bedirhanoğlu was protected by special forces on 17 December. PKK militias opened fire when they realized they were noticed. Dincer was slightly and one of the PKK militias was heavily wounded.[46][47]
15 August 2018 İsmail Özden Turkey Snune, Sinjar, Iraqi Kurdistan Assassination successful 1 killed Insurgent's leadership. Assassinated in a Turkish airstrike on Sinjar.
17 July 2019 Osman Köse PKK (alleged by Turkey) Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan Assassination successful 3 killed Köse was an officer in Turkish consulate in Iraq. He was assassinated when he was dining on a restaurant in Erbil. Two Iraqi civilians were also killed in the assassination. Turkish government blamed PKK however, People's Defence Forces (HPG), the armed wing of the PKK never claimed responsibility for the assassination.[48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55]
12 October 2019 Hevrin Khalaf Ahrar al-Sharqiya M4 Motorway, Rojava, Syria Assassination successful 1 killed Hevrin Khalaf was a Kurdish-Syrian politician who served as the Secretary-General of the Future Syria Party. She was executed by Turkish-backed Ahrar al-Sharqiya militants.[56]
23 June 2020 Zehra Berkel Turkey Helincê, Kobane, Syria Assassination successful 3 killed Berkel was a women's rights activist in Syrian's Rojava region as a coordinating member of the Kongra Star women's movement. She was killed via a Turkish drone attack together Amina Waysi and Mizgin Xelil.[57] Turkey has been criticized for this killing of women's rights activists.[58][59]
5 June 2021 Selman Bozkir (aka Docteur Huseyin) Turkey Makhmour refugee camp, Iraq Assassination successful 3 killed Turkey claimed the airstrike which killed Bozkir and two others,[60][61] claiming Bozkir, the camp manager, to be a senior PKK official and the camp to be "an incubator for terrorism".[60] The Makhmour camp was created in the 1990s, hosting refugees fleeing South-Eastern Turkey's destruction.[62]
16-17 August 2021 Seîd Hesen Turkey Sinjar, Iraqi Kurdistan Sikeniye village, Sinjar District Assassination successful 11 killed Seîd Hessen was an Iraqi Sinjar YBŞ commander targeted by Turkey airstrikes, including airstrikes on his hospital. Two assistants, 4 YBŞ security, and 4 medical staffs were killed.[63]
7 December 2021 Marwan Badal Haji Turkey Khanasor, Shingal district Assassination successful 2 killed Marwan Badal Haji was an Iraqi, Yazidi, Sinjar YBS commander. In 2014 while ISIS invaded Sinjar, Badal formed the core of a Yazidi resistance militia which later became the YBS, supported by Syrian YPG. Turkey considers YPG and YBS as foreign offshoots of Turkish PKK.[64]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "TERÖRÜN İLK MAĞDURU FATİH BUCAK". Urfanatik Haber (in Turkish). Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  2. ^ Marcus, Aliza (April 2004). Blood and Belief: The PKK and the Kurdish Fight for Independence. NYU Press. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-8147-9587-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  3. ^ "Rasim Ozan - Esat Oktay Yıldıran ve PKK". takvim.com.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  4. ^ "Diyarbakır Cezaevi'ndeki işkencenin adı: "Beni Öp Haydar"". CNN Türk (in Turkish). 17 December 2015. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  5. ^ Önderoğlu, Erol (17 September 2009). "Vedat Aydın murder: Murder File Returned to its Origin after 18 Years". Bianet. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  6. ^ Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "Refworld | Journalists Killed in 1992 - Motive Confirmed: Cengiz Altun". Refworld. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
  7. ^ Orhun, Mehmet (2016). Political Violence and Kurds in Turkey. Routledge. p. 184. ISBN 9781138918870.
  8. ^ batmanpostasigazetesi, 31 July 2012, Gazeteci Yahya Orhan mezarı başında anıldı
  9. ^ Cizre, Ümit (2007). Democratic Oversight and Reform of the Security Sector in Turkey: 2005/2006 Status Report. LIT Verlag Münster. p. 244. ISBN 978-3-03735-234-2.
  10. ^ Ünlü, Ferhat (25 August 2008). "Suikastların adresi hep JİTEM'e çıkıyor". Sabah (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 25 October 2008. Retrieved 9 December 2015. Sonra da bildiğiniz gibi Şırnaklı Hamit infaz etti Anter'i. [Then, as you also know Şırnak Hamid Anter was executed.]
  11. ^ David Romero (2006). The Kurdish Nationalist Movement: Opportunity, Mobilization, and Identity. Cambridge University Press. p. 135. ISBN 978-0-521-85041-4.
  12. ^ Amnesty International (September 1992). "Kurdish Writer Musa Anter, 74, Murdered" (PDF). Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  13. ^ Duvakli, Melik (27 August 2008). "JİTEM's illegal actions cost Turkey a fortune". Today's Zaman. Archived from the original on 6 June 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
  14. ^ Human Rights Watch (1993), The Kurds of Turkey: Killings, Disappearances and Torture, pp18-19
  15. ^ a b "Kurdish politician Mehmet Sincar commemorated on 27th anniversary of his assassination". Bianet - Bagimsiz Iletisim Agi. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  16. ^ a b "Chronology of the Important Events in the World/PKK Chronology (1976–2006)". Turkish Weekly. Archived from the original on 6 October 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  17. ^ DEMİR, Cenker Korhan (2008). "Öğrenen Örgütler ve Terör Örgütleri Bağlamında PKK". Uluslararası İlişkiler / International Relations. 5 (19): 57–88. ISSN 1304-7310. JSTOR 43926075.
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  20. ^ "Funeral for PKK members set to take place Jan 16". Hurriyet Daily News. Istanbul. 14 January 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  21. ^ "France closes the case on the murder in Paris of Sakine, Fidan and Leyla". ANF News. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  22. ^ "Paris killing victim buried with participation of thousands". Hurriyet. 18 January 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2013.
  23. ^ a b "Acquittal of nine Ceylanpinar murder suspects upheld". 16 April 2019.
  24. ^ a b Hoffman, Max (12 August 2019). "The State of the Turkish-Kurdish Conflict". Center for American Progress. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  25. ^ a b "PKK claims Turkish police killing in revenge for Syria border attack". France 24. 22 July 2015. Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  26. ^ a b AFP, LeFigaro fr avec (22 July 2015). "Le PKK revendique le meurtre de policiers turcs". Le Figaro.fr (in French). Retrieved 2 May 2020.
  27. ^ "Father on trial for attending son's funeral: I only buried my son". ANF News. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  28. ^ "Lawyer takes case of Kurdish man dragged behind armored vehicle to top court after 5 year impasse". www.duvarenglish.com. 10 April 2020. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
  29. ^ "Turkey:Case concerning the killing of Tahir Elçi and lack of effective investigation into his death". ARTICLE 19. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
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  32. ^ "Ahmet Budak'ın katledildiği saldırının detayları gerekçeli kararda".
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  34. ^ "Mardin'in Mazıdağı ilçesi Kaymakamı Halit Benek'e hain suikast girişimi". Karar Gazetesi (in Turkish). 22 September 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
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  36. ^ "Son Dakika! HPG, AK Partili Başkan Yarımcısı Muştu'ya Yapılan Suikastı Üstlendi". Haberler.com (in Turkish). 10 October 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  37. ^ "Aydın Muştu suikastini yapan örgüt belli oldu". www.finansgundem.com (in Turkish). 10 October 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  38. ^ Welle (www.dw.com), Deutsche. "AKP'li siyasetçilere yönelik PKK tehdidi artıyor | DW | 23.10.2016". DW.COM (in Turkish). Retrieved 20 October 2020.
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  41. ^ Szakola, Albin. "A top Kurdish commander has been assassinated near the Turkish border". Business Insider. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
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  46. ^ "2 assassinations of PKK failed". 21 December 2016.
  47. ^ "PKK'nın Belediyeye Atanan Kayyuma Suikast Girişimi Elinde Patladı". Haberler.com (in Turkish). 21 December 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  48. ^ "Erbil şehidinin katiline idam". Sabah (in Turkish). Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  49. ^ "Erbil'deki Türk Diplomat Suikastında Bir Tutuklama Daha". Amerika'nin Sesi | Voice of America - Turkish (in Turkish). 21 January 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
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  57. ^ Van Wilgenburg, Wladimir (23 June 2020). "Turkish drone strike kills 3 women in north Syria's Kurdish city of Kobani". www.kurdistan24.net. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
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  60. ^ a b "Erdogan says Turkey 'neutralised' PKK official in Iraq camp strike". Reuters. 6 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  61. ^ "Senior PKK terrorist neutralized by Turkish forces: Erdogan".
  62. ^ "Turkish air strike kills at least three in refugee camp in Iraq". Reuters. 5 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  63. ^ Rudaw (18 August 2021). "Turkish airstrike on Shingal clinic killed 4 fighters, 4 health workers: statement". www.rudaw.net. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
  64. ^ Shakir, Layal (7 December 2021). "YBS official killed by Turkish airstrike: statement". www.rudaw.net. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
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