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Arrests in Turkey wedding attack Turkey PM condemns wedding attack
(about 3 hours later)
Eight people have been arrested after masked gunmen attacked a wedding party in south-eastern Turkey, killing 44 people, Turkish authorities say. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has condemned as "atrocious" an attack by gunmen on a wedding party in south-east Turkey in which 44 people were killed.
The bride and groom were among those killed by attackers wielding assault rifles and grenades during the festivities in Mardin province. Mr Erdogan said the attack on Monday in Bilge Koyu in Mardin province was "the result of a feud between two families".
The motive for the attack is unclear, but it has been linked to a blood feud between rival families in the area. "No kind of tradition can justify this killing, no conscience can justify this kind of pain," he told Turkish MPs.
The identities of those arrested have not been announced. Eight armed men with the same surname as many of the victims have so far been arrested in connection with the crime.
Turkey's interior minister Besir Atalay said investigators had spent the night speaking to eyewitnesses in an effort to identify those responsible. The bride, the groom, his parents and his four-year-old sister, as well as the village's imam were all killed in the attack, officials said. Three other villagers who were wounded are being treated in hospital.
According to what my relatives told me unknown gunmen opened fire from the door and from the window. I've seen lots of bodies, their faces are unrecognisable Tarik Kalkan, local resident class="" href="/1/hi/world/europe/5246068.stm">Village Guards divide Turkish Kurds Turkey's interior minister had earlier ruled out any involvement by Kurdish rebels who are active in the area, close to the Syrian border.
"Eight people have been caught and detained, and their weapons confiscated. This can be understood as a blood feud between two families," Mr Atalay said. 'Beyond words'
The BBC's David Byrne in Istanbul says that the fact arrests were made within hours of the attack and the circumstances of the arrests, that the men were persuaded to surrender, points to their being both local residents and not militants. In his weekly address to members of his Justice and Development Party in parliament, Prime Minister Erdogan said six children and 17 women were among those killed in the "massacre" in Bilge Koyu.
Turkey has fought Kurdish separatists in the area for 25 years, but unconfirmed reports said the assailants included members of a militia known as the Village Guards, who have helped government troops fight Kurdish separatist rebels. "The people were killed at a happy event, during a ceremony, while praying," he said. "The fact that they pointed guns and massacred children, defenceless people, is atrocious... it's beyond words," he added.
The Village Guards were set up in 1984 and have long been accused of involvement in illegal activities, our correspondent adds. President Abdullah Gul meanwhile condemned the attack as an example of "primitivity... and cruelty that is impossible to explain".
If the group's complicity in these killings is proved, it is likely to reinforce calls for it to be disbanded. Witnesses said at least four men had stormed the two homes where up to 250 guests had assembled for prayers during the wedding, firing automatic rifles and throwing hand grenades.
Horrifying scene "They broke into the house and started spraying the place with bullets, hitting both men and women, their faces were covered with masks," one woman said.
The attack took place at a wedding celebration in the village of Bilge Koyu, about 20km (12 miles) from the city of Mardin. One report said there were about 200 guests at the wedding. A teenage girl who lost six members of her family said she had survived only because she had hidden in a nearby barn when she heard the gunfire.
One relative who took the body of his nephew to a hospital said the site of the attack was horrifying.One relative who took the body of his nephew to a hospital said the site of the attack was horrifying.
"You could not believe your eyes," Ahmet Can told Channel 24."You could not believe your eyes," Ahmet Can told Channel 24.
Ferhat Ozen, deputy governor of Mardin province, said the assailants stormed into a house where wedding guests had assembled, firing automatic rifles and throwing hand grenades. Long-running feud
Paramilitary police were sent to the village to pursue the attackers, he said. The Turkish state news agency, Anatolia, cited unnamed villagers as saying that the assailants were members of the Celebi family who wanted the bride, Sevgi Celebi, to marry one of her relatives.
Another man whose relatives were caught up in the attack accused the gunmen of using explosives. Security forces have been deployed in the village to prevent further violence
"The shooting started right after they took their position to perform prayers," Tarik Kalkan said. The villagers said there was a feud going back about 20 years between the Celebis and the family of the groom, Habip Ari, and that the bride's father and mother had resisted pressure to cancel the marriage.
"I've seen lots of bodies, their faces are unrecognisable. It's obvious that some explosives were also used." Unconfirmed reports, however, said the assailants also belonged to a militia called the Village Guards, who have helped government forces fight the rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) since 1984.
Mr Atalay, the interior minister, was quick to play down suggestions of a Kurdish terror strike. The BBC's David Byrne in Istanbul says the Village Guards have long been accused of involvement in illegal activities and if the group's complicity in these killings is proved, it is likely to reinforce calls for it to be disbanded.
"Based on the investigations so far, we have reached the opinion that it was not a terror event, but the prosecution is still investigating," he said. Interior Minister Besir Atalay has been quick to play down suggestions that the attack was the responsibility of Kurdish militants.
Although the interior minister did not mention the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) by name, analysts say his comments suggest the government is ruling out an attack by Kurdish militants. "Based on the investigations so far, we have reached the opinion that it was not a terror event, but the prosecution is still investigating," he told reporters on Tuesday morning.
Rebels have been battling for more autonomy since 1984 in the south of Turkey - an insurgency which has claimed more than 40,000 lives. The PKK has been battling for Kurdish autonomy since 1984 in the south of Turkey in a war which has claimed more than 40,000 lives.
The violence means many people carry guns - and our correspondent says tribal and family loyalties in the region run deep.The violence means many people carry guns - and our correspondent says tribal and family loyalties in the region run deep.
Are you in the area where the attack occurred? What do you think the motive for it is? Are you elsewhere in Turkey and what are your thoughts about the story?Are you in the area where the attack occurred? What do you think the motive for it is? Are you elsewhere in Turkey and what are your thoughts about the story?
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