WWI soldiers commemorated in Kars

Thousands of Turkish soldiers who died of freezing cold in the World War I Sarikamis Operation were commemorated yesterday with an official ceremony in the eastern Anatolian province of Kars. The ceremony was attended by State Minister Mehmet Aydin, Kars Governor Mehmet Ufuk Erden, Justice and Development Party (AKP) Kars Deputy Zeki Karabayir, 14th Mechanized Brigade Commander Taner Guvenci, the governors of Ardahan and Igdir, the mayor of Sarikamis, as well as many university students and people from throughout Turkey. Speaking at the ceremony, Aydin said though the soldiers perished due to inadequate equipment, they gave their lives for the homeland. Before the ceremony, nearly 5,000 people conducted a commemorative climb from the village of Kizilcubuk to a high point in the Allahuekber Mountains, where a monument to the fallen soldiers is located.