Alan Malazgirt, a commander of the People’s Defense Forces (HPG) spoke to ANF about the ongoing Turkish attacks on the guerrilla-held Medya Defense Zones in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq). The HPG commander evaluated the guerrilla struggle, the defeats of the enemy forces and the tactics that developed during the battles.

Malazgirt said that the Turkish state wanted to achieve final victory in 2021 by mounting attacks on Medya Defense Zones.

The HPG commander recalled that the Turkish army put its invasion plans into action by attacking Garê on February 10, 2021. “The Turkish state aimed to achieve great military, political and social success by attacking Garê. The invasion plans were comprehensive, since Turkey wanted to show its power. However, these plans and the display of force failed following the attack that started in Garê on February 10, and they could not achieve any result. Despite the support of both the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Iraqi government, they could not bring about a serious change in their war methods in Garê. The Turkish army wanted to display its military force by introducing advanced warfare in a spot operation. However, it failed. To cover up its failure and defeat, it launched an operation against the Avaşîn, Zap and Metina areas on April 23. They developed a certain level of warfare technology, but they could not get any result.”

Malazgirt pointed out that the Turkish army changed its warfare in 2021. “The Turkish army wanted to achieve results with novel warfare methods and made its preparations on this basis. In 2021, it employed all kinds of dirty methods, including chemical weapons. However, it failed but declared victory through its media outlets. They wanted to cover up their failures with the power of the media and psychological warfare,” the commander noted.

TURKISH ARMY KEPT THE BATTLE UNDER COVER

Malazgirt remarked that the guerrilla forces also transformed their resistance methods during the latest Turkish attacks. “The battle style that developed in the tunnels and the organization of fighters as a team on the ground were innovations that the Turkish forces did not anticipate. The Turkish army thought that it could enter the tunnels in a short time and that no force would be successful against it. It pretended to be successful. It tried to carry out the battle somewhat secretly. The battles were not covered in the Turkish media. Therefore, they concealed the number of their casualties while exaggerating our losses. Censorship is widely used both in war and in the public sphere in Turkey. Special warfare has always been the main pillar of the Turkish state, which is familiar to us and our people. If you cannot defeat your rival, you may resort to different methods other than war. The Turkish state has such a dirty and genocidal past.

The Turkish forces failed during the battles in tunnels that started in Medya Defense Zones on April 23. For this reason, it used all kinds of chemical weapons against the guerrillas. Although the enemy forces have adopted such dirty methods, there is a PKK reality, an Apoist reality. No matter how destructive the battle might be, we will not take a step back. What our enemy does not understand about the war we have been waging for nearly 50 years is the resistance character of the PKK. The PKK is ready to pay any price, yet it never accepts to take a step back.”

WE WILL EXPAND OUR FIGHT IN 2022

"2021 was a year during which innovations were introduced by both us and the enemy forces," said the HPG commander and continued, “The conditions of war are always changing, and a change is taking place in the style of war accordingly. Organization of teams on the ground, the professionalisation of fighters and developments in tunnel battles have paved the way for more change. There are always deficiencies in wars. If we read the reality of war in a proper way, we will be able to introduce changes more effectively.

Our enemy creates itself with the idea of destroying us. With the changes in war tactics, an outstanding resistance has emerged in the new period of guerrilla warfare. This situation has become practical this year. Of course, the enemy will remain adamant on war, but the ongoing war has shown that the current government of Turkey has not achieved any result. The guerrillas will take revenge on the enemy. This year's guerrilla resistance gave us great strength. Despite all the tactics of the enemy forces, the guerrilla's enormous will and strong faith generated motivation for us. In 2022, we will increase our struggle to lift the isolation of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan and end the persecution of our people.”