Score of human casualties during sacrifice holiday

Usually, the headlines of newspapers in the aftermath of the bayram are about the death toll due to car accidents among holiday goers. This year, the nine day holiday during Kurban Bayram, the "Feast of the Sacrifice," was a bloody one for Istanbul. But not just due to road accidents.

The first incident occurred last Tuesday when a young manager of a club was shot dead by two unknown people in front of his house in Şişli. The police are still looking for the murderers of Engin Temel, 24, a model and manager of Love Bar, a popular club amongs homosexuals. Temel’s father, Münir Temel, and his friends claim that he had no reason to have enemies.

Dangerous business
The murder sent shock waves through the club community. "This business is no longer safe. I am thinking of quitting this job," Su Gönül, manager of Airport Bar and a friend of Temel, told daily Radikal. The security cameras covering the street where Temel was killed show two suspects. But the records turned out to be unclear and there were no witnesses. The investigation of Temel's murder continues. However, Temel’s friends believe the murderers are not far away.

"His murderers’ identity is clear. Everyone in our business knows who they are," said Gönül avoiding giving any names of the suspects.

Another incident occurred the same day in the center of Istanbul, Taksim, leaving three dead. Yavuz Yıldız, Tufan Saral and Murat Uygur died in an armed conflict inside the Rıddım Bar, located in Taksim’s Sıraselviler Street, a crowded street especially at night. Rıddım Bar used to be called "Kemancı Bar" a very popular place owned by two partners Murat Başkan and caricaturist Galip Tekin, who later dismantled their business.

First announced as a murder of jealousy, the incident turned out to have resulted from a dispute between Başkan and Tekin, according to daily Sabah. Murat Uygur, who claimed to be a gunman for Tekin, and the bar's security guards Tufan Saral and Yavuz Yıldız lost their lives in the hospital.The investigation into this case is also continuing.

The "club murders" continued Sunday, ending with two more deaths. Murat Çınar, 32 and Onur Göktaş, 23, died after in a knife attack, and Cahit Çınar and Cemal Sargın were injured in a fight in a club called "Code-S" in Istanbul’s Şişli district. The security cameras for the club were not working said the police and some workers in the club had cleaned up bloodstains from inside the club before the police arrived.

There were more killings last week. In addition to the six "club murders," 12 people have been killed in Istanbul since the day before the holiday began. The day before Kurban Bayram, Akif Biçer was killed because of a debt dispute in the Beykoz district of Istanbul. Serkan Duymaz, Cihan Can and Ahmet Derman died and three people were injured in a disagreement between two groups in Istanbul’s Tuzla area on the first day of Bayram, Dec. 8. İslam Canibekov, a former Chechen commander, was killed in front of his house late last Tuesday in the Ümraniye district of Istanbul.