In the operation that has continued for 13 days, the Turkish army has been stuck in Şırnak’s Besta and Kato mountains.

Local sources reported to Dihaber that the region is still experiencing winter conditions, the soldiers are having trouble retreating and the village guards want to go back as well.

The simultaneous operations launched on April 18 in the rural areas of Besta, Kato Jîrka, Kato Marinos, Heftanin, Metina, Cudi and Gabar regions in Şırnak’s center and Silopi, Beytüşşebap and Uludere districts continue. 2nd Army Commander Lieutenant General İsmail Metin Temel is at the head of the operation with over 3 thousand soldiers and some 200 village guards. Military dispatching for the operations continues.

REINFORCEMENTS CONTINUE

The operations continue in the areas with frequent close contact. As reinforcements, cargo planes have flown in large groups of Gendarmerie Special Operations (JÖH) units to Şerafettin Elçi Airport in the İdil district. The JÖH are transferred to the 23rd Gendarmerie Division Command while several military helicopters have also been brought in for the operations in the region. There are also reports that the village guards by the border line were ordered to join the operations but they refused.

HARDER TO RETREAT

With the launch of the operations, the governorate closed off all entry to and exit from the area and issued a ban for civilians. Thus, no concrete information can be obtained. But some sources close to the region report that village guards who took part in the spots where the snow hasn’t melted yet say they want to go back. The same sources claim that many soldiers, especially in the Kato Jîrka and Besta regions where the operations are intense, are having trouble retreating due to sniper fire and the risk of an ambush.

Both regions are still hit by Howitzer and mortar fire while helicopters rake the area through. The area is bombed by jet fighters especially during nights.

ARMS DISPATCHING TO THE BORDER CONTINUES

Government officials and pro-government media often speak of a cross-border operation, but no operation is visible yet in Silopi, the district with a key importance to possible cross-border operations. The district is on the border with Southern Kurdistan and has hundreds of tanks situated in border outposts to which the heavy weapons dispatching continues.