ANKARA
The Turkish General Staff has thanked citizens who helped evacuate wounded soldiers after an armed terrorist attack in Turkey’s Agri province, according to an official statement.
Brigadier General Ertugrulgazi Ozkurkcu told Anadolu Agency on Monday that troops were in the village on Saturday to establish security during a village spring festival following a request from the Agri Governor when the attack was launched.
Ozkurkcu said the “behavior shown by the citizens ... shows regional citizens stand against terror”.
According to local HDP party activists, some villagers who they described as voluntary "human shields" put their lives at risk by coming between the two sides in an attempt to stop the fighting.
But Ozkurkcu said the Turkish Armed Forces did not accept the definition.
He said gendarmerie soldiers within the security forces had gone to the region as a preventive measure, not an operational one.
- 'Preventive measures'
Gendarmerie troops were involved in such preventive measures at similar events across Turkey, Ozkurkcu added.
“Preventive measures taken for security reasons have nothing to do with the Turkish Armed Forces,” he said.
Ozkurkcu said that the four soldiers wounded in clashes with terrorists were in good condition.
The clash erupted when Turkish soldiers came under attack in a village in Diyadin district, Agri Province, eastern Turkey.
Five terrorists were left dead and another injured in the incident, which came less than two months before the planned general elections in Turkey.
Turkish people are due to cast their votes on June 7 and elect 550 new members of the Turkish parliament.
