The village of Ormaniçi (ku: Bana) in the Güçlükonak district of Şırnak has been besieged by the Turkish army since July.

The village was besieged after the eruption of skirmishes between the Kurdish guerrillas and Turkish soldiers in July. Turkish forces then stormed several houses and detained many residents.

A de facto state of emergency has been in place in the village since, and the residents are not even allowed to take care of their gardens and fields.

On 15 September, the Governor’s Office in Şırnak imposed a 15-day ban on entering and leaving 5 areas in the vicinity of the village.

Residents of the village are forced to send their cattle to another village due to the military measures implemented in the region.

According to Mezopotamya agency, Turkish troops bombed the area with heavy weaponry after the 15-day ban came into effect. The random bombardment started a wildfire in the rice fields in the lower parts of the village.

The fire has not been responded to yet and has already started to spread to a wider area, according to the report.