The regional command of the People's Defence Forces (HPG) in the northern Kurdish province of Mardin issued a public warning regarding environmental destruction and assistance to the Turkish army. In various areas of the region, especially in the Omerya area, forests are being cut down on the orders of the military, said the HPG, calling on those responsible not to allow themselves to be instrumentalised for the exploitation of the environment.

"Our forces have established that these tree-cutters are in contact with the enemy's intelligence service, are controlled by it and at the same time carry out agent activity. The people of the region reject any action that serves the enemy and the plundering of Kurdistan's nature. We warn those who carry out these activities and thus, consciously or unconsciously, play into the hands of the enemy. It is a crime both to carry out espionage activities and to plunder the nature of Kurdistan. No one should commit such crimes and act for the enemy."

The Omerya region is located in the district of Nusaybin and is a strategic target of the Turkish army in the war against the Kurdish guerrillas. The area is home to the Bagok massif, which is part of a small mountain range about 1,250 metres high that begins between Nusaybin and Midyat and extends to İdil in neighbouring Şırnak province. The region is of strategic importance because it is close to the border that divides Kurdistan into Syrian, Iraqi and Turkish occupied areas. Large-scale military operations have been taking place in Omerya for months, accompanied by massive environmental destruction.