In the province of Bitlis in northern Kurdistan, the Turkish army is carrying out attacks on areas in the district of Hizan which were declared a temporary special security zone on July 15. For the local population, the measures, which will initially last for 15 days, mean a de facto state of emergency.

According to the Mezopotamya news agency, the bombings are being carried out by several attack helicopters. The target of the attacks is a region southeast of Hizan, which includes a hazel forest known to keep the local village economy alive, as well as ten densely populated villages and hamlets. The attacks are justified by a military operation against the guerrillas.

While the Turkish bombardment in the region continues, the Green and Left Future Party (Green Left Party) Bitlis deputies Hüseyin Olan and Sema Çağlar Gökalp visited the region on Sunday. Speaking here, Olan said: “Many areas have been under bombardment for almost 10 days and the region is suffering from ecocide. The goal is to depopulate the villages in this region. Local people are in a difficult situation and their peace is totally disturbed.”

MA further reported that military loudspeakers repeatedly sounded threats and announcements to residents that access to cultivated land was prohibited, even for irrigation purposes. Meanwhile, two people from the village of Xûlepûr who had been detained by the gendarmerie the day before were released on Sunday morning. The two locals reportedly wanted to irrigate their fields and apparently had no knowledge of the access ban.

The mountainous region, which was reclassified as a temporary "special security zone" on Saturday, is still under the jurisdiction of the gendarmerie until the end of July for the time being.

The villages in Hizan, which are cut off from the outside world, are the focus of the Turkish army for the second time within a few weeks. It was only at the beginning of July that a curfew was imposed on the area, which has now been declared a restricted zone, due to a military operation. For five days, the inhabitants of the affected villages were forbidden to leave their homes. During the operation, the army carried out bombardments in the immediate vicinity of villages, causing massive property damage and starting field fires in some areas.