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 there is a ban on entering and leaving the village. The residents are not even allowed to leave their homes and call on human rights organizations to take action.

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, which has been bombed from the air and land since Tuesday.

In parallel with the bombardment, reports are coming through of military deployment to the area. Soldiers stormed several houses in the village and carried out meticulous searches on Wednesday.