Crowd attacks Uludere district governor

 An angry group assaulted Uludere District Governor Naif Yavuz on Dec. 31.

The spectacle of men throwing punches and stones at Yavuz was in response to the airstrike. Footage of Yavuz’s visit showed men booing, lunging forward and pummeling Yavuz as his aides tried to hurry him down a road lined with parked cars and bleak, snow-covered slopes. At one point, dazed and disheveled, he runs down an embankment to get away from the crowd. Yavuz was taken to a hospital for a check-up, according to reports.

Six people were detained on Jan. 1 as part of a probe into the attack. Locals in Uludere said the attackers were outsiders seeking to foment agitation. Local civil society organizations have also issued statements condemning the attack. In fact, the crowds that flocked to the hospital where Yavuz was being treated were so large that the district governor had to leave the hospital on Jan. 1. Dozens of Şırnak locals came out to the Şırnak Military Hospital on Jan. 1 to express their support for Yavuz. “I would like to thank the people of Şırnak on behalf of the state, myself and my family. They have shown great interest in me since the incident took place,” said Yavuz.