An investigation was launched into the discovery by the Erzurum Public Prosecutor’s Office on Friday. Five village guards were detained as part of the investigation. Some of the detainees claimed during interrogation that they had received the LAWs, hand grenades and bullets from JİTEM members. They also asserted that many other guards in Erzincan villages were also given similar munitions by JİTEM.
Four of the village guards were released after their interrogation while one was remanded to a local court for arrest.
Police sources said they were focused on the prospect of clashes between the country’s Sunni and Alevi population through the use of this ammunition. Erzurum Chief Public Prosecutor Osman Şanal is currently working on an alleged military plot aimed at assassinating prominent community leaders in Turkey that would finally lead to a coup d’état. The plot was exposed by a Turkish daily last year.
The existence of JİTEM has been a controversial issue in Turkey. In late December 2009, the Turkish Armed Forces made the claim that there is no unit called “JİTEM” under the General Staff. Many documents seized thus far during police operations, however, point to the existence of the controversial unit. Such documents were seized during a police raid on the house of retired Col. Arif Doğan, who is currently in jail for suspected membership in Ergenekon -- a clandestine terrorist organization accused of plotting to overthrow the government.
