Turkish police and military special forces reportedly raided a house in Van province Saturday night. The family members were awakened by gas grenades and obliged to leave the house barefoot in nightwear and was battered outside by the special military forces.
According to a report by pro-Kurdish Fırat news agency (ANF), special forces of the Turkish police (PÖH) and gendarmerie (JÖH) attacked a family house in the village of Çobandüzü in the Erciş district of Van province on Saturday night due to a denunciation.
The family was warned by the police and soldiers to leave the house immediately. Before the family members could fulfill the request, gas grenades were reportedly thrown into the house. The family left the house barefoot and in nightwear and was battered outside by the special security forces.ANF has reported that before the family was able to understand what was going on, a fire broke out in the house. The family was prevented from extinguishing the fire and had to spend hours outdoors. Due to the fire, the inner parts of the house were destroyed, and the dowry of a wedding of a young female member of the family planned for next week burned among other things.
As one of the victims, Mehmet Polat explained that his family members were forced to lie down on the ground: “We were not even allowed to call the fire department. Our house has been lit and searched. If we are offenders and deserve such treatment, why was nothing found in the search conducted in the house?”
