The Turkish army has been besieging villages and hamlets in the Hizan district in the province of Bitlis in northern Kurdistan since the beginning of July. After the declaration of a curfew and the launch of a military operation on 2 July, the region was declared a "special security zone" on 14 July.

The threatened villages and hamlets are Harat (Bilgili), Akunus (Yaylacık), Govan (Sarıbal), Nanîlan (Yeniçay), Xalepûr (Yolbilen), Kekulan (Çalışkanlar), Sureh (Gedik), Pertavan (Akyazı), Kûran (Erencik) and Ureh (Otluk) and the surrounding hamlets.

The area is bombarded by the Turkish army from the air and shelled with mortars. Parallel to the military attacks, soldiers are looting fields and hazelnut orchards. Residents of the region, who appealed to the authorities, were told by the district governor that their lands would be expropriated. The villagers say that the aim is to expel the population once again. The affected villages were already depopulated by the Turkish state in 1994. After the legal regulation on the return to villages, many people came back. Ten villages are now threatened with repopulation.

Olan: The operation is a pretext, the aim is depopulation

Huseyin Olan, a Green Left Party MP from Bitlis, is in the region with his parliamentary group colleague Semra Çağlar and was able to visit some of the sealed-off villages. Many other villages are also inaccessible to the MPs. According to Olan, the special security zone is temporarily in place until 28 July. Especially in the village of Xalepûr, there is a large military contingent, mortar shells are hitting the villages at night.

Regarding the latest situation on the ground, the MP said: "In an area of two or three square kilometres, the army is trying to make its way through orchards and cultivated fields. Nature is being destroyed, the terrain is being levelled. According to our observations, the villagers are being forced to leave the area. Allegedly, some people are present there and the operation is set to continue until those people are caught."

The ecosystem is damaged to create a clear view from the observation towers

Noting that observation towers had been set up in the region last year, Olan continued: "The area is being made barren under the pretext of the operation. Hazelnut trees and orchards are being destroyed. Water is no longer reaching the gardens due to the destruction of canals. The land is officially owned by the villagers and the people are desperate. The district governor is reported to have said that the land will be expropriated. Mortar shells are fired all night long. Unexploded shells in particular could pose a great danger to the local people. The operation is called a security measure, but the action goes far beyond that. The ecosystem is damaged to create a clear view from the observation towers. The people’s crops are drying up, this has to stop."

Olan stated that the Green Left Party MPs had submitted a question on the issue in parliament and asked the deputy minister of the interior for an appointment. The request for an appointment was not answered, and the governor of Bitlis also refused to talk. "We cannot find a contact person and we advise those affected to contact the authorities with a statement of damages," he added.