Şemdinli

Şemdinli
Şemzînan
municipality
Image of Şemdinli District
Coordinates: 37°18′29″N 44°34′16″E / 37.308°N 44.571°E / 37.308; 44.571
Government
Population
 (2023)
 • Total18,220
Websitewww.semdinli.bel.tr

Şemdinli (Kurdish: Şemzînan) is a town located in the Şemdinli District of Hakkari Province in Turkey and had a population of 18,220 in 2023. The current mayor is Tahir Saklı from the Justice and Development Party (AKP), elected in 2019.[1]

The town is populated by Kurds of the Humaru and Zerzan tribes and moreover of mixed tribal and non-tribal origin.[2]

Neighborhoods

Şemdinli is divided into the five neighborhoods of Beşevler, Karşıyaka, Moda, Yayla and Yeni.[3]

Kurdish-Turkish conflict

Conflict between the PKK and the Turkish state forces

A bomb exploded in Şemdinli town centre on November 1, 2005. It was officially attributed to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), an armed Kurdish militant group. On November 9 one man was killed in a grenade attack on a local bookshop. The suspects of this attack, however, were caught in the act by bystanders. They were said to be members of a Turkish Gendarmerie unit, JITEM. The resulting investigation developed into a major political issue in Turkey in the first half of 2006.[4] After a lengthy legal process the three suspects were eventually sentenced to 39 years.

  1. Şafak, Yeni (2019-12-15). "Hakkari Şemdinli Seçim Sonuçları – Şemdinli Yerel Seçim Sonuçları". Yeni Şafak (in Turkish). Retrieved 2019-12-15.
  2. Peter Alfred, Andrews; Benninghaus, Rüdiger, eds. (1989). Ethnic Groups in the Republic of Turkey. pp. 216–217.
  3. "Türkiye Mülki İdare Bölümleri Envanteri". T.C. İçişleri Bakanlığı (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 6 July 2015. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  4. "Court says senior officers involved in Şemdinli bombing". Turkish Daily News. 2006-07-19. Archived from the original on 2008-09-19. Retrieved 2008-08-14.