According to local Turkish media, Turkish security forces in eastern Turkey opened fire on a van carrying a group of Afghan migrants, killing a four-year-old Afghan boy.
According to reports, the tragedy happened on Sunday, July 3rd, in the Saray area of the eastern Turkish province of Van.
The incident also resulted in the injuries of 12 other migrants, including the boy’s mother.
The driver of the van carrying the migrants allegedly disregarded a stop warning, according to witnesses cited in reports.
The Van provincial government office issued a statement confirming one migrant’s death and the injuries of 12 others, but it withheld information regarding the victim’s age or country. It claimed that the car accommodated 40 migrants.
Later on Twitter, the governor’s office for the province of Van stated that only the car’s wheels had been shot and that the four-year-old had been killed by a “ricocheting” gunshot.
This is even though Turkey recently conducted forced deportations, expelling a large number of Afghan migrants and according to reports from the local police, it will deport over 300 migrants in the coming future.
For migrants from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iran, Van, which is contiguous with Iran, is a common route.
