Masked gunmen attacked the 200 guests at a pre-wedding ceremony in Bilge Koyu, a village in Mardin, south-eastern Turkey on 5 May. 44 people were killed, including the bride, the groom, the mullah, and an entire family including children aged between 3 and 12 years old. Three pregnant women and a baby were also killed. A further 6 wedding guests were critically wounded. Eight gunmen were arrested by security forces. The weapons used in the attack included Bixi (heavy machine guns), assault rifles and grenades.

Media reports suggest the attack arose from of a long-running conflict between two families in the village. But if the motives for the shootings remain unclear, the reason for the easy availability of weapons does not. The guns and grenades reportedly belonged to the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), and were legally supplied to the local korucus, village guards, armed by the state for resistance against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). In addition to these heavy armaments, Turkey is awash with illegally-held weapons.

Dr Ayhan Akcan of the Umut Foundation, an IANSA member in Turkey, said: “almost every male possesses a gun in eastern Turkey. Where weapons are this widespread, firearms are frequently used in family disputes. In an environment where tribal rules are strong, the law does not have a strong enough impact.”

Umut also noted that guns are frequently fired in celebrations in Turkey, so that the mass shooting went unnoticed at first. The newspaper Milliyet noted: “It is said that the assailants fired for 30 minutes; gunshots were greeted normally in the village since there was an engagement going on.”

Umut’s spokesman said this underlined the importance of prohibiting celebratory gunfire, and resisting the assumption that guns had a place in civil society. “When firearms are widespread, and the gun is identified with bravery, and seen as a normal part of everyday life, slaughters like this take place. Instead, we should work towards a social structure where the law supports people’s right to live in peace.”