The Turkish authorities have again extended the temporary ban on access to more than a dozen mountain regions in the Kurdish province of Şırnak (Şirnex). The order, confirmed by the governor's office on Sunday, is related to several military operations against the PKK guerrillas and affects a total of fourteen areas that have been declared temporary special security zones. For the local population, the measure means restrictions in almost all areas of everyday life.

The access ban applies to the districts of Cizîr (Cizre), Silopiya (Silopi), Qilaban (Uludere), Basan (Güçlükonak), Elkê (Beytüşşebap) and the provincial capital Şırnak, and thus in fact to almost all higher regions. The Cûdî Mountains, the Besta and Feraşîn regions and the Gabar massif are among the areas that are not allowed to be entered. The residents of the settlements and villages there have been asked by the governor's office to adhere to the access ban.

The creation of so-called special security zones is part of a larger development in which military restricted areas are being set up in various parts of North Kurdistan. This means that entire areas are cut off from the outside world and are subject to the control and arbitrary decisions of the military. These measures lead to a considerable burden on the Kurdish rural population and increase the pressure on residents to leave the affected areas. The areas in Şırnak affected by this militarization have been declared forbidden zones every two weeks since 2023.

Şırnak is located in the southeast of Turkish territory and lies in the border triangle with Iraq and Syria. The province borders the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and thus the guerrilla-controlled Medya Defense Areas. For months, military operations, some of them large-scale, have been taking place in the region where the 23rd Infantry Division of the Turkish Land Forces is based. The transfer of troops to Turkey's military bases in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is also coordinated via Şırnak.