ISIL cells await order to hit in Turkey: HDP

DİYARBAKIR

REUTERS Photo



“I fear that forces linked to ISIL and forces supporting ISIL at the local level, which are in the form of cell formations, are waiting for the order to stage incidents in hundreds of places in Turkey,” said Demirtaş on June 12 in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır, where he was attending a commemoration ceremony for the three people who died in the twin blasts at his party’s election rally in the city last week.



Also addressing the later killing of four people in Diyarbakır on June 9, Demirtaş said militants of Turkey’s Hizbullah group were armed in Diyarbakır and had “determined who would kill who if an attack takes place.”

“Many Hizbullah militants and members are armed in Diyarbakır right now. They have arms in their homes. It has also been determined who will shoot who if an attack on them happens,” he said.



Three people were killed on June 9 after Aytaç Baran, the head of the Islamic aid group Yeni İhya-Der was shot dead, sparking violent clashes two days after the HDP’s historic election success.



“When the association chair was shot, it was determined who would shoot who and at which minute. The Hizbullah militants immediately slayed four of our friends,” Demirtaş said.



The HDP co-chair said some wanted to create an image of “civil war” in the region.



Mentioning the twin bombing at the HDP rally in Diyarbakır on June 5 where Demirtaş was going to hold a speech, he said the only arrested suspect into the incident so far, a young man, could not have organized and conducted the bombings alone.



“Who is behind him? There is no doubt that a young boy did not commit the attack all by himself. So who provided him with the links, accomplices, the support received from Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Syria, and the intelligence support? As long as these issues are not revealed, this issue will not be enlightened,” he said.



Demirtaş said that although the HDP was the victim in the case as its supporters had died in the bombings, the Interior Ministry and the Diyarbakır chief public prosecutor’s office had not given any information about subsequent developments.



“Our party is involved in the investigation. We lost our friends. [The process] cannot not work by hiding the file. We simply want to hear what happened openly,” he added.



Meanwhile, the HDP has formed a “provocation prevention committee” made up of several deputies and non-governmental organizations, in order to take precautions against any provocative acts in Diyarbakır after recent violence left four people dead and several others injured, Doğan News Agency reported. The committee will reportedly be presided over by Demirtaş.



Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş has said he fears that forces linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are awaiting an order to stage attacks across Turkey, adding that some forces wanted to create an environment of chaos in Turkey.