Military holds major operation against PKK in Turkey’s southeast

MARDİN

Turkish security forces have launched a major operation against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the southeastern province of Mardin. 

Clashes erupted between the security forces and PKK militants in the Artuklu and Kızıltepe districts of the province, prompting the authorities to impose a curfew in the Sulak neighborhood of Artuklu. 

The security forces have tracked a woman seen in front of the district governor’s office in the Kızıltepe district and carried out a raid in a house in the Atatürk neighborhood on Jan. 21, where the woman had been heading to. Clashes erupted during the raid and the woman, who was determined to be a PKK militant, was “neutralized,” according to the military, adding that another PKK militant was “neutralized” early on Jan. 22.

It was later determined that a group of PKK militants were between central Artuklu and Nusaybin districts. Upon that discovery, a wide-scale operation was launched in the area, during which two PKK militants were caught and two others managed to escape. According to the security forces, a PKK militant code-named “Kawa,” who was among the perpetrators of the PKK attack in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır on Jan. 16, which left five soldiers dead, was also caught in the operation. 

As clashes intensified, a curfew was imposed in the Sulak neighborhood, and the Governor’s Office released a statement on Jan. 22 saying that operations would be carried out in the area. 

Meanwhile, a large cache of weapons and ammunition was found in the Fırat neighborhood of Nusaybin, where a curfew has been in force, including a rocket launcher, home-made explosives and rifles.

Another operation has been ongoing against PKK militants with aerial support in the Doğubeyazıt district of the eastern province of Ağrı since Jan. 19. According to a statement released by the Governor’s Office, village guards and four battalions of soldiers are participating in the operation.