ANKARA (Reuters)–Two members of a state-paid anti-Kurdish militia in Turkey opened fire on a civilian minibus–killing one of the passengers–a spokesman for the Erzrum governor’s office said on Monday.
He said the "village guard" militiamen fired on the vehicle with automatic weapons near Yikilgan village in eastern Erzrum province–killing one passenger and wounding three others.
The two militiamen and the minibus driver were purportedly detained by police. Turkey employs around 60,000 village guards in the east and southeast of the country in its attacks against the Kurdistan Workers Party.
Village guards are often accused of using government arms to conduct private vendettas and blood feuds.
More than 27,000 people have been killed during the PKK’s 13-year struggle for self-rule in the Kurdish southeast.