People’s Defense Center (HSM) Headquarters Command has announced the 2018 balance in the war. According to the report, guerrilla forces carried out 556 actions and killed 2.103 armed state elements in 2018.

HSM Headquarters Command stressed that 2018 was a year of resistance against pressure and attacks in the report they announced.

The statement said, “2018 was a significant year in the Kurdistan Freedom Struggle and a year of resistance against pressure and attacks for the Kurdistan Freedom Guerrilla.”

“TURKEY’S SYSTEM DIDN’T ACHIEVE ANY OF ITS GOALS IN 2018”

PDC Headquarters Command said the Turkish state failed to achieve any of their goals in 2018 and stressed that the Turkish army’s invasion plans against Kurdistan have been voided in Northern and Southern Kurdistan as well as in Medya Defense Zones.

The statement said:

“The fascist AKP regime that aimed to wholly destroy the gains made by our people in Bakur, Bashur, Rojava and Rojhilat without distinction has attempted to deepen the elimination concept they already had in place in 2018. In this context, the war in Kurdistan that saw a historic resistance against the invasion operation against Afrin early in the year occurred as a great resistance in Medya Defense Zones and Northern Kurdistan with the coming of spring.

Throughout this process of war, the AKP-MHP fascism aimed to achieve results through the most advanced technology that they tied all their hopes to, and attempted to best and destroy the Kurdistan Freedom Guerrilla through intense aerial strikes throughout Kurdistan during the year. They aimed to weaken our movement, intimidate our people and pressure Leader Apo with their attacks based on this.

But Turkey’s system hasn’t achieved any of its goals in 2018 in the war. They failed to achieve results against the popular revolution in Rojava, or in the attacks against Northern Kurdistan and Medya Defense Zones. HPG, the vanguard army of the peoples of Kurdistan, displayed a historic resistance and voided the colonialist Turkish army’s plans to invade Kurdistan in Northern and Southern Kurdistan and the Medya Defense Zones.”

SUFFERED HEAVY BLOWS, TRYING TO COVER UP LOSSES

The PDC pointed out that the Turkish state suffered heavy blows but they covered up their losses in an attempt to deceive the public, adding that the truth cannot be hidden.

The Command said the following:

“The Kurdistan Freedom Guerrilla, in the efforts to most effectively implement the new guerrilla system necessitated by the 21st century, has developed a defense war in 2018 and stopped the enemy’s advances and their attempts to fully invade Kurdistan. The guerrilla has also dealt heavy blows to the enemy through effective actions. In the action on the Besosin Silor Hill (Ortaklar-Sungu Hill) in Semdinli, and in actions in Bradost, Serhat, Zap, Botan and throughout Kurdistan, the AKP regime has been defeated and found the only way out of the situation to be to hide the truth. In this context, they have both served their small successes to the public as grand victories, and attempted to deceive the public by hiding their losses although evidence was captured clearly by guerrilla cameras. But everybody knows that mud can’t cover the sun, and the Kurdistan Freedom Struggle’s truth cannot be hidden. The war process in Kurdistan is announced to the public in the most true and simple way through the HPG Press Center, and our people can follow the HPG statements to get an idea about the progression of the war.

Without a doubt, all the gains by our people and movement in 2018 have been achieved through our heroic martyrs who sacrificed themselves in the name of freedom despite intense enemy attacks. We remember our martyrs with great gratitude and respect, from comrade Zeki Sengali who was martyred as a leading commander, to comrades Atakan, Cetin, Cuma, Medya, Dicle, Tarik, Cudi, Vedat, Jîndar, Rizgar, Roza, Sorxwîn and more.

As the Kurdistan People’s Defense Forces, we state that we are entering the struggle to free Leader Apo and the people of Kurdistan for 2019 ready to raise the flag of freedom left to us by our heroic martyrs, and share the balance of the war against the colonialist Turkish state in 2018 as a revolutionary duty.”

The balance announced by the PDC Headquarters Command is as follows:

Turkish Army Ground and Aerial Operations

Ground Operations: 163

Air Strikes: 370

Attack Helicopter Strikes: 313

Mortar, Howitzer, Tank and Artillery Attacks: 558

Result of Actions against Attacks

Guerrilla Actions: 556

Armed Clashes: 59

Actions with Undetermined Results: 220

Enemy Forces Killed (Police, Soldiers, etc.): 2103

Ranked Officers Killed (Police, Soldiers, etc.): 12

Wounded Enemy Forces (Police, Soldiers, etc.): 418

Military Vehicles Destroyed (Armored): 43

Military Vehicles Destroyed (Normal): 13

Construction Machinery Destroyed: 29

Damaged Military Vehicles (Armored): 33

UCAVs Downed: 1

Drones Downed: 5

Damaged Scout Planes: 1

Damaged Helicopters: 10

Comrades Fallen Captive to the Enemy: 19

Comrades Martyred: 523