The Turkish army launched an operation in the rural areas of the Lice district in Amed (Diyarbakır) province. The large-scale operation started on 6 June evening covers the rural neighhborhoods and hamlets of Dêrxust, Cınezur, Hûseynik, Pirik and Panav.

Since last night, intensive troop concentrations have been observed in the region.

The Mezopotamya (MA) news agency reported that residents had observed the construction of several military camps in the affected area. Search points have been established on the roads leading to neighbourhoods and hamlets within the scope of the operation.

The rural population of Lice is often affected by Turkish state terror. It is not uncommon for entire villages to be besieged by the military and civilians targeted. On 24 May, a 45-year-old father of four children was extrajudicially executed in Lice. In order to justify the killing of Mehmet Yıldırım, the Interior Ministry denounced the Kurdish citizen as a wanted ‘terrorist’ who was allegedly involved in a series of ‘terrorist attacks’ against security forces and civilians. However, the government did not provide any evidence for the allegations.

In a statement regarding the killing of Kurdish patriot Mehmet Yıldırım by the Turkish military in Lice, the People's Defence Forces (HPG) said that Yıldırım was brutally murdered by the Turkish state in his own home and in front of his family. “The fascist Turkish state, the sworn enemy of the Kurdish people, had previously kidnapped and murdered Adnan Yıldırım from the Yıldırım family on 3 June 1994 together with Savaş Buldan and Hacı Karay. 18-year-old Medeni Yıldırım, the son of martyr Mehmet Yıldırım's uncle, was murdered by Turkish soldiers during a protest on 28 June 2013. The genocidal Turkish state brutally attacked and martyred Mehmet Yıldırım, just like the other members of this family who were brutally murdered. This incident has once again shown that every free Kurdish individual who insists on living honourably is targeted by the genocidal state. It does not matter whether he is a guerrilla or a civilian,” said the HPG statement.