Since the Turkish army's first attack on Werxelê in the Avaşîn region on June 8, 2021, the guerrillas have been putting up fierce resistance and carrying out daily actions against the invaders. The soldiers are facing great difficulties due to the terrain conditions in the Zagros Mountains and the high temperatures. They have completely lost their combat performance because of the constant attacks of the guerrillas.

As the fighters in Werxelê report, they have witnessed quarrels between the soldiers and their commanders several times. The soldiers have had enough of the hot weather and the constant attacks and say they no longer want to stay in the area. In order to raise morale in the troops, the command wants to inflict casualties on the guerrillas and resorts to dirty methods in Werxelê as in other areas.

Like in the death cellars of Cizre

Between June 8 and 16, the determined resistance of the guerrillas prevented Turkish troops from advancing into the underground positions. The Turkish army airdrops more soldiers by helicopter every night, but so far no soldier has managed to approach the tunnel facilities.

Chemical warfare agents were used for the first time on June 16. The army is trying to avoid direct combat operations, focusing on poison gas and explosive devices lowered from the air over the tunnels. Such explosive devices were also used in Little Cilo in the Zap region, but the explosives were seized by the guerrillas and used against the army. After the fighting in the Mamreşo, Aris Faris, Mervanis, Dola Mara and Dola Konferans areas, the guerrillas developed their own methods against all forms of attack, thereby thwarting the attacks.

Because the Turkish army was stuck, it adopted a particularly brutal method against the guerrillas in the tunnels on June 16. Gasoline was introduced at the tunnel entrance to burn the fighters alive. Burning and asphyxiation by gas are only two of the inhumane methods used by the Turkish army in this war. The same methods have been used before, the dirty history of the Turkish army is repeating itself. People were burned alive in the death cellars of Cizre during the urban struggle for self-determination. The same method is used today against the guerrillas in Kurdistan.

The guerrillas document the events

The guerrillas in Werxelê document the events with cameras. In footage obtained by ANF, the military movements of the Turkish army in the vicinity of the tunnels are not visible, but the ropes on which explosive devices are lowered stand out.

Moreover, it is clear in the footage how nature is being destroyed by the Turkish army. The army's intention is to leave no trees in the Avaşîn region, which is known for its forests. The blasts at the tunnel sites also cause great damage to nature.

The guerrilla fighters in Avaşîn say that the Turkish army is avoiding all direct combat in this war. The soldiers do not even return the guerrillas' attacks. They just run away without firing a single shot and looking around. The only things left behind are the explosive devices, which are of no use, and the gasoline and poison gas that have been spilled for nothing.