15 thousand people from 16 neighborhoods housing 140 thousand people were poisoned and went to hospitals or health centers in Maraş’s Elbistan district on August 28. The district’s water system is believed to be the cause of the poisoning, but Kahramanmaraş Water and Sewerage Services (KASKİ) denied these claims. Similar disasters in history and the extent of the poisoning, however, point at water poisoning as the only possible explanation. KASKİ and the AKP municipality in the district had recently dumped the remains of their fly spray by the creek in Elbistan and caused the destruction of all living things here.

HDP Elbistan District Co-President Hüseyin Yıldırım emphasized that water poisoning is the only possible explanation, and the majority of the people recently poisoned live in working class neighborhoods.

Yıldırım underlined that the majority of the people recently poisoned in Elbistan were Kurds and Alevis living in working class neighborhoods, and KASKİ and the AKP municipality have been trying to cover up their role in the poisoning of thousands of people.

HDP District Co-President Yıldırım noted that 15 thousand people went to hospitals or health centers after being poisoned, and thousands of people were kept in the gardens of these facilities’ due to the lack of adequate health services.

Yıldırım stated that officials have not shared the results of medical examinations on the cause of the poisoning, and reiterated that the AKP municipality and KASKİ in Elbistan would not be allowed to cover up their role in the incident.