While Turkey has been carrying out occupation attacks on the regions of Zap, Avaşîn and Metîna within the guerrilla-held Medya Defense Areas in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq) since mid-April, South Kurdistan’s ruling party KDP started construction of a road between Girê Hekarî and Girê Amêdî areas.

In a statement on Sunday, the People’s Defense Center (HSM) Headquarters Command pointed out that the ongoing war has entered a very significant and critical phase, emphasising their determination to defeat the Turkish state.

The statement by HSM Headquarters Command includes the following:

“As is known, the Turkish state launched a large-scale aggression on 14 April 2022 seeking to invade the Zap, Avaşîn and Metîna regions in South Kurdistan. Since the launch of the operation, our forces have put up great and historic resistance against the Turkish invasion of South Kurdistan lands.

The colonialist Turkish state is carrying out this aggression to invade these areas in a short period of time. Yet, despite the remarkable support Turkey gets, and its use of internationally banned weapons and modern weapons technology against our movement, the Turkish army has not been able to achieve its invasion plan in the past four and a half months.

In its ongoing aggression, the Turkish state ended up in a deadlock and on the verge of defeat. The pitched battle between us and the Turkish state continues and has reached a very significant and critical level.

Girê Hakkarî and Girê Amediyê have been among the heavily contested areas since 25 May. We are assuredly determined to defeat the Turkish state, which will not be able to seize these areas. It has to withdraw and go away as they will face total annihilation if they don’t. Our people and public opinion should know that we do not treat this battle tactically. Rather, we treat it as a strategic battle for the national interests of the people of South Kurdistan in the first place, and of the people of entire Kurdistan, and for the democratic future of the peoples living in the region. This battle is a national and democratic resistance that is of capital importance in terms of the national interests and free future of the Kurdish people. To this end, we remain resolute to do what needs to be done at any cost, as we have made the necessary sacrifice so far.

While the fight between us and the genocidal AKP-MHP regime reached a very critical point on the line between Girê Hakkarî, Girê Amediyê and Sêgirê, KDP forces were spotted building a road with construction equipment from the park at the midpoint of this line toward our resistance areas in the morning of 27 August.

Furthermore, we are aware of the fact that the Turkish state tries to overcome the deadlock it is experiencing in areas such as Şikefta Birîndara and Werxelê by building roads and bringing tanks and similar heavy vehicles into play in these areas. From this point of view, it is clear that the road constructed here will help recover the AKP-MHP regime from the entrapment it is currently experiencing. The construction of this road will clearly mean concrete support for the Turkish state and the AKP-MHP regime and intervention in the fight.

We call upon the KDP administration not to build this road which will serve the enemies of the Kurdish people. We urge the KDP to uphold their responsibilities and go into action to stop the construction of this road which will serve nothing but the AKP-MHP regime.

The KDP’s construction of this road in the middle of the battle front would mean direct participation in the fight. While an inner-Kurdish conflict would be the greatest wrong to the Kurdish people’s national interests and the people of Kurdistan stand against it, the KDP should avoid taking such action.

On this basis, we call on the democratic public opinion, the people of Kurdistan, patriotic institutions and personalities to become an active part of efforts to make the KDP desist from actions that would pave the way for a direct inner-Kurdish conflict.”