The Turkish army has been besieging villages and hamlets in the Hizan district in the province of Bitlis in northern Kurdistan since the beginning of July. After the declaration of a curfew and the launch of a military operation on 2 July, the region was declared a "special security zone" on 14 July. The measure remained in place until 28 July, but the military siege in the region continued.

The threatened villages and hamlets are Harat (Bilgili), Akunus (Yaylacık), Govan (Sarıbal), Nanîlan (Yeniçay), Xalepûr (Yolbilen), Kekulan (Çalışkanlar), Sureh (Gedik), Pertavan (Akyazı), Kûran (Erencik) and Ureh (Otluk) and the surrounding hamlets.

Locals Ahmet Aktay and Abdul Alim Aktay were taken into custody during house raids in the village of Xalepûr (Yolbilen) on August 10. Both men were remanded in custody and sent to Bitlis Prison, accused of “aiding and abetting the PKK”.

A large number of troops and so-called village guards conducted an operation in the mentioned area, mainly focusing on the surroundings of the villages of Hûzeran, Best, Sûreh, Xûlepûr and Kekulan. The affected region in the Hizan district includes a hazel forest, which is known to keep the adjacent village economy alive, as well as ten densely populated villages and hamlets, on which a curfew had already been imposed at the beginning of July in the course of an air-supported military operation. For days, the inhabitants of the affected villages were forbidden to leave their homes and people were cut off from the outside world. During the operation, fighting took place and the army carried out bombardments in the immediate vicinity of villages.

During the operation, the hazelnut trees in the village of Xûlepûr were uprooted by scoops dispatched to the area. According to local sources, Turkish troops destroyed trees to make way for military movement and activities.