Despite heavy snowfalls and state of the art military equipment of the Turkish army, many actions by the HPG took place this winter, especially in the Northern Kurdish regions of Serhat and Botan. At least 76 Turkish soldiers were killed.
The Turkish state had announced that it would extinguish the guerrillas by April 2017 at the latest. The activities of the guerrillas, however, prove the opposite. The People's Defense Forces HPG have developed new tactics against the operations and successfully implemented them.
Until now, winter has been used by the guerrillas as a time of education and training. However, in the winter months of this year, almost no day passed without reports of guerrilla action. Headquarters of the Turkish army, such as at the Koordine summit in Çelê (Çukurca), were repeatedly targeted several times a day and even in the Serhat region known for harsh winter conditions, actions took place almost every day. The ability of the HPG to increase its activities during the winter months is a clear difference to earlier times and shows that guerrilla action has reached a new level.
The detailed documentation of the actions on Gerîla TV could also break the news blackout and sometimes forced the Turkish army to admit losses. For example, from 1 January to 18 February alone, 25 actions were carried out by the guerrillas, some of which were of large scale. The actions focused mainly on the region of Serhat and Botan. At least 76 Turkish soldiers were killed and a variety of positions and military equipment was destroyed. The multitude of actions expresses a further expansion of battles with the snowmelt.
