In the Bitlis province of northern Kurdistan, the residents of several villages were terrorised by the Turkish army. On the grounds that PKK guerrilla fighters had been seen in the region, a curfew was imposed in ten villages in the district of Hizan on July 2.

In the course of a subsequently launched military operation, fighting took place and houses were stormed in the affected villages. The rural areas of the villages under curfew were shelled by the Turkish army throughout the night. Following the bombardment all night long, ground attacks were launched in the morning. In Xûlepûr village, three people were detained and taken to the gendarmerie (military police) district headquarters. 

During the 5-day curfew declared in the region, the Turkish state forces uprooted hundreds of trees and heavily damaged the fields of the local people.

Mehmet Saki Altun, a resident of the Xûlepûr village, stated that hundreds of fruit trees he owned were uprooted by construction equipment.

According to Altun, dozens of heavy construction equipment were deployed to the region during the course of the curfew. “After the curfew started, the house of my uncle was raided. They entered our fields with scoops and destroyed hundreds of hazelnut, walnut and apple trees. They razed 30 decares of land to the ground in a few seconds. A delegation must come to the village and conduct an examination. This insult and atrocity must be exposed. These trees are our source of income. Their only goal is to harm us and nature.”