The military operation launched by the Turkish army on April 23, 2021 in the Zap, Avaşîn and Metina regions of the guerrilla-held Medya Defense Zones in South Kurdistan is continuing. The plunder of nature which was prompted by the Turkish campaign has been resumed by the village guards hired by the Turkish army.

According to information obtained by Mezopotamya Agency (MA) from local sources, the village guards from the Sêgirkê (Şenoba) town of Şırnak's Uludere district have been deployed to the Avaşîn, Zap and Metîna regions for cutting trees.

It is reported that the village guards are replaced by new groups of guards on a monthly basis. Apart from their guarding activities, the village guards are tasked with cutting down the trees in the region in return for a fee.

Village Guard: Armed Collaborators

Village guards are armed collaborators of the AKP / MHP regime. In the 1990s, in particular, many people had to flee the region because they had refused to become village guards. Other family clans got involved with the state and became para-state death squads that terrorize the population acting by interface between organized crime, the secret service and counterinsurgency.