Turkish colonel arrested over disappearances in southeast in 1990s

Col. Cemal Temizoz was formally charged after investigators into the 1990 disappearances excavated wells in the southeastern towns of Silopi and Cizre owned by the Turkish Oil Pipeline, which revealed clothing and bone fragments.Â

The colonel became the third suspect to be charged this month as part of a probe into allegations that supporters of the PKK were killed and buried in "death pits" in the southeast in the 1990s.

The colonel, who had been questioned since Monday, was the head of a paramilitary police force stationed in the Cizre, Sirnak province, in 1993-1996.

Recent digs in the area turned up some 20 fragments of bone and pieces of tissue in what the media have dubbed "death pits."

The two other suspects awaiting trial are the former mayor of Cizre, Kamil Atak, and his son Temel, who were at the time acting as village guards.

They allegedly organized the abduction and killing of PKK supporters, within the knowledge and under the protection of the colonel.

The investigation was launched in February after media published accounts of the alleged murder of a PKK member who defected from the terror organization and became an informer for the security forces.