Ten villages in the Bitlis province in northern Kurdistan have been under curfew since Sunday (July 2) evening. The villages affected are Hûzeran, Akûnis, Govan, Lanîlan, Xûlepûr, Kekulan, Sûreh, Pertawan, Kuran and Mezra Pisyan in the district of Hizan. Last night, the area around the villages was continuously bombed by the Turkish army and occasional gunshots were also heard. The military operation has continued with ground attacks since early this morning. Sakin, Muzaffer and Bedrettin Altın, who were detained during a raid in the village of Xûlepûr on Monday morning, were brought to Bitlis today by the gendarmerie district command in Hizan and are expected to be brought before the public prosecutor's office in the course of the day.

Hüseyin Olan, Member of Parliament of the Green Left Party, gave an update on what is happening in the operation area at a press conference in the parliament today.

The MP pointed out serious violations of the law and said that the residents’ lives are in danger and the local people have serious problems accessing basic supplies.

Olan noted that curfews had been imposed 381 times in at least 11 provinces and 51 districts in the period between 2015 and 1 January 2020.

Between 2015 and 2017, this crackdown led to the displacement of at least 500,000 people from Kurdistan, Olan said, referring to a related UN report that said at least 2,000 people were killed. “Thousands of houses were razed to the ground and entire neighbourhoods were wiped out. There is no justification for the curfews, which violate fundamental rights such as the right to life and personal freedom and the prohibition of torture.”