The AKP/MHP regime had firmly expected to be able to destroy the guerrillas by invading the Medya Defense Zones (guerrilla areas in northern Iraq) and thus crush the Kurdish people's struggle for freedom. But the calculation did not work out. If we look back over the past three years, we can see that the Turkish army has been unable to secure even the few hills it occupied and that the invasion itself is turning into a deep crisis for the regime.

The balance sheet of war for the past year must be seen in the context of 2021 and 2022, because the nature of the war as it is being waged now and the current attack tactics of the Turkish army began with the attack on the region of Gare in February 2021. When he announced the launch of the all-out attack on the Kurdish people and guerrillas at that time, Turkish President Erdoğan declared: "We are waging the most comprehensive war in the history of our republic." When we look at the war in the last three years, we see how the state has mobilized all its institutions for the war and used all its resources to finance the war. The balance sheet of this year speaks volumes in this sense. It is obvious that despite the ceasefire due to the earthquakes and the elections, the guerrillas have made a tremendous effort and carried out highly effective actions and revolutionary operations at the highest qualitative level. In addition, these actions and operations were largely documented, and the recordings were made available to the public. The HPG Press Center continuously provides information to the public on the day-to-day events of the war.

The defeat of Gare

As with everything, there are critical periods and phases in wars. The critical period of the war waged by the Turkish state against the Kurdish people and guerrillas since 2015 as part of the "decomposition plan" was the Zap War in 2022. Therefore, the Kurdistan Freedom Movement defined the war in the initial phase as a war of to be or not to be. The Turkish state intended to deal the final "fatal blow" to the Kurdish people and the guerrillas. The regime started this "final" attack in February 2021 with the four-day invasion attempt in Gare. Although it suffered a major defeat there, it continued and intensified its attack. The aim was to completely destroy the guerrillas, crush the freedom struggle in a short time and complete the genocide plan against the Kurdish people. The decisive attack and critical phase was therefore the Zap War in 2022.

Three years of war

The Turkish state intensified its attack using all NATO means, committing war crimes and employing special warfare methods. The state entered the war with all its institutions. If we compare the results of the war in 2021-2022 and finally 2023, a clear picture emerges.

The war in 2021 was focused on Avaşîn and included the Zap and Metîna regions. The results are as follows: 2,025 airstrikes by fighter jets, 367 chemical weapons attacks, 436 howitzer and mortar attacks and a total of 742 guerrilla actions in response to these attacks. The number of Turkish occupation soldiers killed amounted to 861, the number of wounded to 128. These were the highest figures in the period from 2015 to 2021. 298 guerrilla fighters were martyred in 2021.

The balance sheet of war for 2022, when the war was waged in both eastern and western Zap and in the regions of Avaşîn and Metîna, is as follows: 4,527 air strikes by fighter jets, 3,280 attacks with unconventional explosives and chemical weapons, 5,702 attacks by helicopters. The total number of guerrilla actions amounted to 3,034. 301 guerrilla fighters were martyred during the year. 2,942 Turkish army soldiers were killed in guerrilla operations, 408 others were wounded.

Finally, a summary of the 2023 balance sheet of war is as follows: 1,580 air strikes by fighter jets, 1,038 attacks with unconventional explosives and chemical weapons, 342 drone attacks, 9 attacks with tactical nuclear bombs. 1,712 guerrilla actions were carried out in total. 179 guerrilla fighters were martyred. 919 soldiers, seven of them high-ranking, were killed. 128 others were injured.

Massive attacks, but also massive resistance

From this data, we can easily see the severity of the attack and the extent of the resistance to it. The Turkish state has carried out a total of 13,834 airstrikes in the last three years. It has also carried out 4,685 attacks using unconventional explosives and chemical weapons. It has attacked hundreds of times a day with howitzers, mortars and tanks. At the same time, despite a ceasefire that lasted for six months in 2023, the guerrillas have carried out 5,488 actions and revolutionary operations in the last three years. It is undeniable that with this performance and resistance, the guerrillas have taken guerrilla warfare to a new dimension.

The Turkish army is not making any progress

The far-right coalition partner Devlet Bahçeli of the MHP should be reminded of its promise "We will put up the Turkish flag in Qandil". This was not just a promise, but the ultimate goal of the Turkish state. Qandil was set as the final destination of this attack. However, the Turkish army is still trying to hold the hills where it airdropped troops in Zap, Avaşîn and Metîna in 2021 and 2022. The practical progress of the plan to go to Qandil extends from the border of Çukurca to Kurojahro. In other words, it is not even one step further, but the fascist AKP/MHP regime is trying to sell even this as a success through its special war media.