YAKA-DER administrator Kemal Aydýn has revealed the existence of two mass graves in the Aliboðazý area, near the Çemiþgezek district of Dersim. Aydýn remarked that his brother Abdülkadir Aydýn and 22 of his comrades are buried in two separate mass graves in this area.

Following violent conflicts in the region on 25 April 1995 and an ambush by TSK (Turkish Armed Forces) soldiers, 22 guerrillas, who lost their lives during the clash, were reportedly buried in a mass grave. Besides two separate mass graves where nine and two guerrillas are buried respectively, a further seven guerrillas were buried in the graveyard of the nameless people in Dersim.

While the fate of other four guerrillas still remain unknown, YAKA-DER administrator Kemal Aydýn is preparing to apply to the Dersim Branch of Human Rights Association (IHD) to find his brother who has been disappeared for 16 years.

Reminding that the applications of guerrilla families to Dersim, Elazýð and Malatya prosecution offices remain unanswered, Aydýn said; "I couldn't file my application as I have been in prison until 2004. I will apply to the Dersim IHD Branch in the coming days to demand the opening of these mass graves."

Translation: Berna Ozgencil