5 soldiers hurt in poll booth conflict
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Doğan News Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Haziran 08, 2009 00:00
MARDİN - Five soldiers were left injured when an armed fight broke out yesterday in the Southeast between rival supporters of political parties.
The Supreme Election Board had ordered new local elections in the Girmeli area of Mardin province after it annulled the results of the March 29 local elections there. The fight broke out between supporters of the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, and the Democratic Society Party, or DTP. Five soldiers were injured in the conflict, in which shotguns were used and 15 people were detained.
The gendarmerie forces employed strong security measures in the area after the incident and voting was suspended for an hour.
Widespread security measures were already in place in Girmeli, where 2,453 voters were expected to recast their votes. Squads of riot police were also deployed in the area despite it being under the gendarmerie’s jurisdiction.
The gendarmerie is a paramilitary force attached to the Turkish Armed Forces and is usually tasked with enforcing law and order in rural areas, among other duties.
A verbal fight erupted between AKP and DTP supporters at 9 a.m. and soon turned into an armed confrontation in which five soldiers under the gendarmerie command were injured. They were transferred to Nusaybin State Hospital and their condition was reported to be stable.
The Supreme Election Board annulled the March 29 election result for Girmeli following a complaint by the AKP candidate, Yusuf Turgay, who lost to the DTP candidate, Ömer Altun, by 39 votes. The board ruled that "voters were put under pressure." On the day of the local elections, five people were injured. The election board annulled the results of the local election in 30 regions of the country for various reasons.
The gendarmerie forces employed strong security measures in the area after the incident and voting was suspended for an hour.
Widespread security measures were already in place in Girmeli, where 2,453 voters were expected to recast their votes. Squads of riot police were also deployed in the area despite it being under the gendarmerie’s jurisdiction.
The gendarmerie is a paramilitary force attached to the Turkish Armed Forces and is usually tasked with enforcing law and order in rural areas, among other duties.
A verbal fight erupted between AKP and DTP supporters at 9 a.m. and soon turned into an armed confrontation in which five soldiers under the gendarmerie command were injured. They were transferred to Nusaybin State Hospital and their condition was reported to be stable.
The Supreme Election Board annulled the March 29 election result for Girmeli following a complaint by the AKP candidate, Yusuf Turgay, who lost to the DTP candidate, Ömer Altun, by 39 votes. The board ruled that "voters were put under pressure." On the day of the local elections, five people were injured. The election board annulled the results of the local election in 30 regions of the country for various reasons.