Locals in Turkey's Kilis 'worried, scared and insecure,' says CHP report

A lawmaker from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) said the southeastern Kilis province had turned into a "war zone" and that nobody had "life safety," after a party delegation paid a visit to the border town and prepared a report on its security situation in the face of recent rocket attacks from Syrian territories.

CHP lawmakers Zeynep Alt?ok, Gamze Akku? ?lgezdi, Dursun Çiçek, Murat Bakan and Ahmet Ak?n announced their report at a press meeting held at Turkish parliament on April 28. The report was prepared based on the lawmakers' observations and interviews with officials, bar association members, artisan chamber representatives, refugees and citizens of Kilis, a city hit frequently by rockets fired by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), particularly in the past months.

"The governor said that announcements were the only measures that can be taken against the rockets and that he cannot be a 'Superman' and prevent them...Kilis is going through dangerous days, the government and the public authorities are hiding information. A city of this country is in the middle of terror," said MP Alt?ok, quoting Kilis governor Süleyman Taps?z and adding that the delegation observed that the city's society had reached a breaking point.

Alt?ok said, "While the governor's office and official posts are portraying a rosy picture about non-problematic education, housing and unity between the locals and the Syrians, the citizens conversely share that they are worried, scared and insecure."

"The Kilis governor [Taps?z] said that the issue is a national security issue and that he and his family did not have life safety either. He said he was obliged to implement the government policies being carried out in the region and...