At least six people have been killed in southern Turkey as forest fires rage near tourist coastal regions for a fourth day.
More than 50 others wildfires that broke out since Wednesday amid strong winds and scorching heat were extinguished.
The worst fires hit the Manavgat and Akseki regions in Antalya province, where an 82-year-old man and a married couple died. More than 50 people were hospitalized and at least 25 villages or districts were evacuated, as of Friday.
According to Anatolian News Agency, Authorities have found the bodies of two people killed during firefighting operations in Turkey’s southern Antalya province, sources said on Saturday, raising the overall death toll to six.
Two others injured by the raging blazes in Antalya’s Manavgat district were evacuated and taken to a local hospital, said the sources, who asked not to be named due to restrictions on speaking to the media.
The simultaneous eruption of dozens of fires created suspicion of coordinated arson, with pro—AKP media immediately pointing the finger at terror organization PKK
Foreign Minister Mevlüt Cavusoglu told reporters that the public has some suspicions as to who started the fires, Director of Communications Fahrettin Altun said comprehensive investigations have been launched. “Those responsible for the crime against the nature and forests will be held accountable as soon as possible,” Altun said.
Meanwhile, special teams have been set up by the police and gendarmerie forces to investigate the wildfires. The special teams are looking for clues which may hint the fires were an act of terror or were deliberate.
The nationalist folks were less patient. Lynching against Kurds in Anatolia had already started.
Seven people from the Dedeoğlu family were killed at home by armed assailants in the Meram district in the Central Anatolian province of Konya.
The assailants reportedly raided the family’s home and set the building on fire after killing the family members.
A large number of firefighters and police officers deployed to the area after the incident found the dead bodies of Yaşar Dedeoğlu, Barış Dedeoğlu, Serpil Dedeoğlu, Serap Dedeoğlu, İpek Dedeoğlu, Metin Dedeoğlu and Sibel Dedeoğlu.
“The scoundrels murdered by clients. We warned [the authorities] many times. They murdered seven people, three of whom were women,” the attorney of the family, Abdurrahman Karabulut, wrote on Twitter late yesterday (July 30)
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