Syrian Kurdish mother killed at Turkish border
The killing of Saadet Dervis of Rojava by Turkish soldiers in front of her children while trying to cross the border into Syria has led to new scrutiny of Turkey’s Syria policy.
On the night of May 18, Saadet Dervis, 30, along with her two children and her father, attempted to cross the border from northern Syria's Rojava region, which is controlled by the Kurds, into Turkey. Her husband had gone to Turkey a few months prior. Dervis, also known as Saada Darwich, was fleeing an area under the control of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
As they approached the Turkish border near the Derik district that night, they were detected by Turkish soldiers. Dervis and her group waved and shouted that they wanted to cross the border. Their plea was met with fire from a Scorpion armored vehicle, and Dervis was hit in the stomach. She died in front of her young children and father, Mithat Dervis.
For two hours, soldiers did not allow Mithat to carry his daughter’s body across the border to Turkey. Around 11 p.m., Mithat disregarded the threats and dragged her body toward the armored vehicle. Finally, an ambulance was called and Saadet was moved to Cizre Public Hospital. After a postmortem examination, the body was delivered to relatives in Syria under the supervision of Maj. Hikmet Oz, the town gendarmerie commander. She was buried in Derik.
Also on May 18, Ali Ozdemir, 14, of Hasakah was shot in the face, losing both his eyes, while attempting to cross the border from Rojava into Kiziltepe-Senyurt. Ozdemir, who lives in Turkey, had traveled to Dirbesiye two weeks ago to visit his grandmother. In the border area, people must often cross minefields and hop wire fences to visit relatives.
