On Saturday, 29 September, a minibus in Beytüssebab, in the south-eastern province of Sirnak, was shot at.
Twelve people, seven of them village guards, were killed. Two men, one of them severely injured, were found alive.
Conflicting accusations
The Sirnak Governor's office said that those killed had worked to bring water to a nearby village and were killed by PKK militants as they were returning to their village at around 5pm.
The "Özgür Gündem" newspaper, which has been banned from publishing, claimed on its website that the PKK has announced that the attack was organised by the Turkish Armed Forces and the Gendarmerie Intelligence Unit (JITEM).
The article draws attention to the killing of 11 village guards in a minibus in another district of Sirnak (Güclükonak) in 1996 and claims that that attack was also organised by JITEM.
IHD condemns attack
The Human Rights Association (IHD) has strongly condemned the attack, saying: "Just as we oppose the extrajudicial killings, which are violations of the right to live, committed by state organs, we also condemn the killings committed by organisations who use arms as a means for their political activities. We demand that those responsible are identified and tried."
Parliamentary investigation
Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Human Rights Commission has formed a committee to investigate the murders. According to the "Radikal" newspaper, this committee first only included MPs from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). After protests, one MP each from the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) and the Republican People's Party (CHP) was included.
Motion by DTP MP Kaplan
Hasip Kaplan, DTP MP for Sirnak, has handed Besir Atalay, Minister of the Interior, a motion, in which he asks the following questions: