AKP government was wowing to eliminate the guerrilla forces at the start of 2017. By mobilizing all the resources of the state and providing immunity to security forces with the new regulation, AKP continuously launched military operations and increased the invasion attacks against Southern Kurdistan and Rojava. However, every single military operation resulted in defeat. The military operation in Agri and Tendurek mountains, the largest of its kind in last 30 years, became the name of a humiliating defeat.

Tendurek region has strategic importance. The trade route between Iran and Turkey passes through this region. The natural gas pipeline in the region adds more to the strategic importance of Tendurek.

The D100 route is mainly considered as a trade route but it’s used for military purposes by the Turkish army. The Turkish Council of Ministers declared Tendurek a “temporary security zone” for one year on December 27, 2016.

In the meantime, Turkish army is building a wall in cooperation with Iran, on Turkey-Iran border to prevent Kurdish guerrilla movements.

Because of the strategic importance of the region, Turkish state launched large-scale military operations, like it does every year.

THE LARGEST MILITARY OPERATION OF LAST 30 YEARS

The first operation in Tendurek region in 2017 was launched on May 10 and Turkish media said that it was “the largest operation of its kind” in last 30 years. It was followed by a second operation on September 21 and the last one was on September 27. The Turkish army started the operations with victory chants but faced very tough resistance by the guerrillas in the region.

TURKISH OFFICIALS REMAINED SILENT

Everybody looks at the events with what AKP media says. Let’s look at it from a different perspective, from HPG’s window. When we look at HPG’s statements it reflects a very different situation from what AKP media tells us. Besides, after every military operation in the region, there was no statement from Turkish officials.

On the statement about the operations in Tendurek and Agri dated May 10, HPG said that Turkish army suffered heavy losses and the 37 soldiers including a lieutenant colonel and a major who was coordinating the operation were killed. HPG also stated that a Cobra helicopter was shot down by the guerrillas.

88 SOLDIERS WERE KILLED IN THE OPERATION IN SEPTEMBER

Turkish army launched another operation in Demirkapı area in Dogubayazit, a district of Agri province. The operation forces, including several units from the special forces, faced tough resistance by the Kurdish guerrillas. The guerrillas effectively used the territory and Turkish army suffered heavy losses once again. HPG’s Press and Communication Centre said that there were no guerrilla losses during the operation and on the other hand 19 Turkish soldiers were killed.

And recently on September 27, Kurdish guerrillas encircled the operational units of the Turkish army, consisting of thousands of soldiers and village guards, and killed 69 Turkish soldiers. 44 soldiers were also wounded.

TURKISH ARMY HIT THEIR OWN SOLDIERS

In the last operation, Turkish army hit its own soldiers in order to gain control of the area. This was a proof of army’s state of desperation. Only a desperate and incapable army would hit its own soldiers. Maybe the army wanted to kill all the witnesses of its failure. Turkish army left its dead and wounded in the operation area. This shows that they cannot gain control over the region.

Despite Turkey’s construction of the wall in the border area, blockage of the roads, employment of thousands of soldiers and the latest technology, the operations were all failures. Each time they faced resistance from the guerrillas and lapsed into silence. This is an indication of the reality. The high-tech of Turkish army is failing against the tactics of Kurdish guerrillas.

For the Turkish army, Agri and Tendurek became a scar tissue. They are not aware what human will and belief can achieve.

In Tendurek we saw that no one can defeat human’s will and power with only military technology.