Mardin engagement ceremony massacre

Mardin engagement ceremony massacre
Location of Mardin in Turkey
LocationBilge, Mardin, Turkey
Coordinates37°27′51″N 40°35′15″E / 37.46417°N 40.58750°E / 37.46417; 40.58750
DateMay 4, 2009; 15 years ago (2009-05-04)
Attack type
Mass shooting
Weaponsgrenades, automatic weapons
Deaths44
Injured3–6
PerpetratorsMehmet Çelebi and associates; 8 suspects in custody
MotiveAlleged blood feud

On May 4, 2009, Mehmet Çelebi,[1] a village guard, killed at least forty-four people at an engagement ceremony in the village of Bilge in the Mardin Province of Turkey. The attack was perpetrated using grenades and automatic weapons by at least two masked assailants, who authorities believe are involved in a feud between two families.[2] According to some sources, it was an internal feud of the Kurdish Çelebi clan.[3][4]

The faces of the victims were left in a physically unrecognisable state.[5] Reuters said it was "one of the worst attacks involving civilians in Turkey's modern history", declaring that the scale of the attack had shocked the nation.[6]

  1. ^ "Bilge Köyü katliamı sanığı: Asla pişman değilim". Posta. Archived from the original on 24 October 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
  2. ^ Edis, Şeyhmus (2009-05-06). "Family dispute leads to massacre in Mardin". Today's Zaman. pp. 1, 17. Archived from the original on 2009-05-11. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  3. ^ Hochzeits-Massaker - Täter wollten ganze Sippe auslöschen Archived 2012-10-11 at the Wayback MachineFocus (German), 06.05.2009
  4. ^ Massaker im Namen der Ehre Archived 2010-04-19 at the Wayback MachineDie Zeit (German), 6.5.2009
  5. ^ "Many die in Turkey wedding attack". BBC. 2009-05-05. Archived from the original on 2009-05-07. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
  6. ^ "Blood feuds, gun violence plague Turkey's southeast". Reuters. 2009-05-05. Archived from the original on 2009-05-11. Retrieved 2009-05-05.