Basbağlar massacre
During the massacre in Başbağlar , a unit of the Kurdistan Workers' Party attacked the village of Başbağlar in Kemaliye ( Erzincan Province ) during evening prayer on July 5, 1993 . They shot 28 men. Five women were killed in the subsequent arson of the houses. Other sources say that the five burn victims included a woman and several children.
Course of events
According to the Muhtar , who survived injured, the PKK fighters came into the village, gathered the men and made political speeches. They lined up and shot the villagers and then set the houses on fire.
Perpetrator
After his arrest, Abdullah Öcalan stated that the massacre happened without his knowledge. A local commander with the code name Doctor Baran was responsible. In leaflets that the PKK fighters left behind, they cited revenge for the arson attack on Sivas , which had taken place three days earlier, as the motive. The party organ Serxwebûn of May 28, 1997 wrote in an obituary for a fighter that the PKK had confessed to the attack. Doctor Baran was later killed because of a falling out with Öcalan. Legal proceedings ended after years with acquittals for proven innocence.