Mum, three children die in Turkiye tower block fire
Diyarbakir Governor Murat Zorluoglu said the fire began around 6:30 p.m. (1530 GMT) on the eve of Turkiye’s Eid Al-Adha celebrations
Updated 06 June 2025
AFP
DIYARBAKIR, Turkiye: A mother and three children died Thursday when a fire broke out in a 13-story apartment block in Diyarbakir, the main city in Turkiye’s Kurdish-majority southeast, local officials said.
Diyarbakir Governor Murat Zorluoglu said the fire began around 6:30 p.m. (1530 GMT) on the eve of Turkiye’s Eid Al-Adha celebrations.
He said “more than 30 people” were evacuated from the tower block, 17 of whom were taken to hospital after being affected by the “very intense smoke.”
Four of them had died — three children and a mother, he said, without specifying if all of them were her children.
But Mehmet Galip Ensarioglu, a local MP from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), said they were “all from the same family.”
Footage from the scene showed rescuers evacuating people from the building by basket cranes as fierce flames raged from the roof.
By the end of the evening, only 10 people were left in hospital, “nine in good condition, and one in moderate condition,” Zorluoglu said.
“If there is any negligence, those responsible will be held accountable,” he added.
By nightfall, the fire had been brought under control and rescue teams had confirmed there was no one left inside, he said.
Jailed Turkish Kurd leader calls on government to broker deal for Syrian Kurds
Clashes between Syrian forces and the SDF have cast doubt over a deal to integrate the group’s fighters into the army
Updated 7 sec ago
AFP
ANKARA: Jailed Turkish Kurd leader Abdullah Ocalan said Tuesday that it was “crucial” for Turkiye’s government to broker a peace deal between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Damascus government. Clashes between Syrian forces and the SDF have cast doubt over a deal to integrate the group’s fighters into the army, which was due to take effect by the end of the year. Ocalan, founder of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant group, called on Turkiye to help ensure implementation of the deal announced in March between the SDF and the Syrian government, led by former jihadist Ahmed Al-Sharaa, whose forces ousted longtime ruler Bashar Assad last year. “It is essential for Turkiye to play a role of facilitator, constructively and aimed at dialogue,” he said in a message released by Turkiye’s pro-Kurdish DEM party. “This is crucial for both regional peace and to strengthen its own internal peace,” Ocalan, who has been jailed for 26 years, added. “The fundamental demand made in the agreement signed on March 10 between the SDF and the government in Damascus is for a democratic political model permitting (Syria’s) peoples to govern together,” he added. “This approach also includes the principle of democratic integration, negotiable with the central authorities. The implementation of the March 10 agreement will facilitate and accelerate that process.” The backbone of the US-backed SDF is the YPG, a Kurdish militant group seen by Turkiye as an extension of the PKK. Turkiye and Syria both face long-running unrest in their Kurdish-majority regions, which span their shared border. In Turkiye, the PKK agreed this year at Ocalan’s urging to end its four-decade armed struggle. In Syria, Sharaa has agreed to merge the Kurds’ semi-autonomous administration into the central government, but deadly clashes and a series of differences have held up implementation of the deal. The SDF is calling for a decentralized government, which Sharaa rejects. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, whose country sees Kurdish fighters across the border as a threat, urged the SDF last week not to be an “obstacle” to stability. Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi said Thursday that “all efforts” were being made to prevent the collapse of talks.
