ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Five areas of Turkey’s Kurdish-majority province of Hakkari have been declared part of a “special security zone” by the governor’s office, citing “threats and attacks” by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
“The recent activities of the separatist terrorist organization [PKK] and other terrorist organizations within the borders of our province have started to have a negative impact on the social and economic developments of our province,” reads a statement from governor Idris Akbiyik published Tuesday.
“As a result of these activities, our citizens have been deprived of carrying out their social and economic work and movement,” it added.
The aim of the zone, which spans Hakkari city and the districts of Cukurca, Semdinli, Yuksekova, and Derecik, is to “protect our state and people from any sort of terror threat or attack,” the official said.
The region has seen decades of fierce fighting between Turkish armed forces and the PKK, an armed group fighting for greater political and cultural rights for Kurds in Turkey.
Turkey launched Operation Kiran against the Kurdish rebels in Hakkari, Van, and Sirnak on August 17. Three more phases of the operation were launched in other Kurdish areas in the east and southeast of Turkey.
Local security forces have taken various security measures against the Kurdish guerrillas in the past, including the declaration of security zones, the imposition of curfews, and the setting up of multiple checkpoints in conflict areas.
Kurdish Mayor dismissed
Turkey is also battling the Syrian Kurdish fighters of the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which makes up the backbone of the US-allied, multi-ethnic Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Turkey’s Operation Peace Spring, launched October 9 in northeast Syria, has been widely criticized internationally and at home.
Turkish security forces have been monitoring social media accounts to track down critics of the operation.
Three investigations were launched against the mayor of Cizre, Mehmet Zirig, on October 23 for retweeting a video critical of the operation.
Zirig was sacked by the Turkish interior ministry on Tuesday for “being a member of the terrorist organization” and other terror related charges.
Zirig shared the ministry’s decree, saying: “The people of Cizre will never bow to you.”
His party, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), condemned the move. Of their 66 mayors who won office in the March 31 local elections, 13 have been sacked and six have seen their votes “confiscated”.
“This means that in just two months the will of 1,473,427 voters was confiscated,” the HDP said.
Security forces prevented a protest in Cizre on Tuesday against the dismissal.
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