KURD-A News Updates: February 6-8,

[ats at etext.org]

From: Arm The Spirit <ats at etext.org>
Subject: KURD-A News Updates: February 6-8, 1995

KURD-A News Updates
February 6-8, 1995

Turkish security forces stationed in the region of Habizbina near
Mardin were attacked by ARGK guerrillas early in the morning on
February 5 after they had left their barracks. During the
fighting, which lasted until evening, 5 soldiers were killed.
Guerrillas also attacked other Turkish army posts in Mardin-Raha.
We have no more details concerning these attacks at this time.
(06.02.95)

A large Turkish army operation is presently underway in the
Omeryan region near Mardin. According to our correspondents,
soldiers and village guards have attacked villages and mistreated
the villagers. (06.02.95)

According to a neutral military observer, there will be major
Turkish army operations in North Kurdistan this spring. The
Kurdish New Year's celebration, Newroz, which is banned in
Turkey, has in the past years led to confrontations between the
population and the Turkish security forces. The big army
operations are designed to stop this. The spring offensive will
also try to prevent attacks from Kurdish guerrillas. This
offensive will largely be directed against the Kurdish
population. (06.02.95)

According to KURD-A correspondents, these has been heavy fighting
for several days between ARGK guerrillas and Turkish army units
in the mountain region near Silopi. The number of solider and
guerrilla casualties is not known. But some inhabitants have
reported a high number of soldiers killed. (07.02.95)

Our correspondents have uncovered evidence of cooperation between
Turkish security forces and counter-guerrilla terrorists in the
Bingol-Solhan region. These people, whose names are known, were
directly involved in murder, interrogation (torture), and the
burning of villages. Some of these names are: Huseyin Tekdemir,
Ayhan Adar, Hasan Balcik, and Mehmet Yazicioglu. (07.02.95)

Osman Kuntas, a city worker in Batman, was kidnapped by two
"unknown persons" on February 7. He was grabbed outside of his
home and driven away in his own car. Osman Kuntas' car was later
found abandoned in the road between Batman and Kozluk. There is
no trace of Osman Kuntas. The Kuntas family is afraid that he has
been kidnapped by the counter-guerrilla and they fear for his
life. (08.02.95)

The Erzincan correspondent for the pro-Kurdish newspaper Ozgur
Ulke disappeared on February 7 when he went to pick up a package.
The correspondent, Bulent Kaya, received a package slip from an
unknown shipping company. He went to pick it up and has not been
seen since. Bulent Kaya's friends have told our correspondents in
Erzincan that he had received many threatening letters and calls
recently. (08.02.95)

Various news agencies have reported that 18 PKK guerrillas were
killed during fighting in Dersim-Hozat province on February 6-7.
But according to our correspondents in the region, and according
to the ARGK (People's Liberation Army of Kurdistan), the
guerrillas killed were not ARGK fighters but rather members of a
different, smaller organization. (08.02.95)

On February 6, there was a fight between ARGK guerrillas and
Turkish security forces in the village of Siremek in the Sason
region. During the fighting, 2 soldiers were killed. After the
guerrillas retreated, Turkish soldiers tortured the village
inhabitants and killed 2 people. (08.02.95)


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