Mother receives son's remains seven years after he was killed

The remains of a man who had been killed in clashes in Turkey's Kurdish-majority district of Yuksekova in 2016 were handed over to his family seven years after his death, Jin News reported.

The family received the remains of Aydin Kurt at a cemetery in the province of Erzurum after they were informed that the DNA samples they had provided in 2016 matched with the remains, Jin News said.

The remains of Aydin Kurt, also known by the name of Egid Dildar, will be buried in a cemetery in the Baglar district of Diyarbakir.

Mother Peyruze Kurt said that they had provided blood samples and applied to authorities on several occasions in the course of seven years, and that they could get a response only recently.

She told Jin News:

"I am very happy that I am able to bring my son's remains to Amed [Diyarbakir]. My Egid will be Ciyager's companion and guest. I'm sure that thousands will take part in his unfinished struggle (...) I will do so till the very end. I will follow Egid's path."

Dozens of people were killed during a 79-day curfew in Yuksekova in 2016 as the district center was besieged by Turkish forces and Kurdish fighters affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) clashed with Turkish troops.

A father, Ali Riza Arslan, had similarly received the remains of his son, Hakan Arslan, in a sack in late August, seven years after he was killed in Diyarbakir's Sur district.