Two journalists from Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast have been killed, reportedly by a Turkish drone strike, while covering the fighting between Ankara-backed militia and US-backed Kurdish fighters in northern Syria, Agence France-Presse reported, citing journalists’ groups on Friday.
Nazım Daştan, a reporter at Dicle News Agency, and Cihan Bilgin, a reporter at Hawar News Agency, were killed on Thursday near the Tishrin dam, east of Aleppo when their car was hit, the Dicle Fırat Journalists’ Association said.
“We condemn this attack on our colleagues and demand accountability,” the group said, describing the pair as “two valuable journalists” reporting on the violence in northern Syria.
The Turkish Journalists Union also condemned the attack, saying they were “allegedly targeted by a Turkish UAV,” an unmanned aerial vehicle commonly known as a drone.
“We condemn the attack. Journalists cannot be subjected to attack while performing a sacred duty. Those responsible must be found and tried,” the union’s branch in the southeastern Kurdish-majority city of Diyarbakır said.
We deplore the killing of Kurdish journalists Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin by a Turkish drone strike in northern Syria,” PEN International, a writers’ association, said on the social media platform X. “We urge Turkey to promptly investigate and hold those responsible to account.”
According to the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya news agency, the explosion that killed the journalists was caused by a Turkish drone.
The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported two journalists being killed in Aleppo province, saying it was by a “Turkish drone strike.”
The Turkish army insists it never targets civilians, only terror groups.
Meanwhile, a protest in the eastern Turkish city of Van over the journalists’ deaths led to the detention of 10 reporters and several politicians, the Dicle Fırat Journalists’ Association said. Police intervened at a planned press statement about the killings, detaining journalists from Mezopotamya, JINNEWS and other outlets.
Those detained included Mezopotamya reporters Ruken Polat, Özlem Yacan, Mazlum Engindeniz and Sema Yüce Polat; Ajansa Welat reporters Bazid Evran and Fırat Tunç; JINNEWS journalist Memihan Zeydan; and independent journalists Zelal Tunç, Oktay Candemir, and Nimet Ölmez.
The Turkish Press, Broadcasting, and Printing Workers’ Union criticized the detentions, writing on social media, “We demand safety for journalists working in conflict zones and the release of our detained colleagues in Van.”
