In the Kurdish province of Şırnak, dozens of wild goats have been killed by armed village guards. According to the Şırnak Ecology Association, the mass killing of the animals took place in a rural area between the villages of Cilbiya and Biliga in the district of Silopi and near the town of Şenoba in the district of Uludere.
According to the report, a total of 36 wild goats were shot with long-range weapons in the Cudi Mountains during the breeding season. Numerous armed village guards are said to have been involved in the incident—paramilitaries in the service of the Turkish state who now call themselves “security guards.”
The environmental organization speaks of a “targeted massacre” and accuses the authorities of systematically contributing to the extermination of wild animals through “ecological destruction policies.” “Nature and the ecological balance are being destroyed by armed forces acting with state backing,” it said in a statement on Friday.