KURD-A News Updates: February 19-22

[kurd-l at burn.UCSD.EDU]

Reply-To: kurd-l at burn.UCSD.EDU
From: Arm The Spirit <ats at etext.org>
Subject: KURD-A News Updates: February 19-22, 1995

KURD-A News Updates
February 19-22, 1995

According to our correspondents in the Uludere region, a military
convoy of 120 vehicles has been brought from Sirnak to Uludere.
It seems as though these soldiers are going to take part in a
major army operation in the Uludere region in the next few days.
There is also a major army operation presently underway in the
Sason region. This operation is largely directed against the
civilian population. Some villages have already been attacked by
Turkish security forces and villagers have been mistreated.
(19.02.95)

According to residents in the area around Botan, the Turkish army
has been suffering high levels of desertion. Some of the soldiers
who have deserted are hiding in villages, others have hid
themselves in the mountains. One villager, who spoke to our news
agency on the condition that we not mention his name, said this
is because "the Turkish army deals with deserters in a swift
manner". Other reports indicate that several Kurdish army
deserters have since joined the ranks of the ARGK guerrillas.
(19.02.95)

On February 18, Turkish security forces operating in the Mardin-
Savur region were attacked by ARGK guerrillas. According to KURD-
A correspondents in the area, 15 Turkish soldiers were killed.
These same security forces were attacked for a second time on
February 19, this time near the village of Avina. The guerrillas
attacked a Turkish army unit and killed 1 sergeant and 8
soldiers. According to local residents, the army operation is
still underway. (20.02.95)

On February 18, Turkish warplanes bombarded the area south of
Mus. According to the ARGK, no guerrillas were killed in this
attack. It is not yet known whether any civilians were killed in
the raid. (20.02.95)

On February 20, at around 3:00pm, the village of Schech Habib
near Mutki was bombarded by the Turkish army firing mortars. It
is not yet known whether any civilians were killed in the attack.
After the mortar attack, Turkish security forces launched an
operation in the region. (21.02.95)

In South Kurdistan, the Haftanin region, which is part of the UN
security zone, was repeatedly bombarded by Turkish warplanes on
February 20 and 21. According to our correspondents in the
region, there were no civilian casualties. In the Mt. Gabar
region, following a major Turkish army operation, there was
fighting between Kurdish guerrillas and Turkish army units.
Soldiers operating in the area were attacked by guerrillas on
February 20. The Kurdish guerrillas attacked one army unit from
three sides. Several Turkish soldiers were killed in the attack.
(21.02.95)

Turkish army units involved since February 20 in an operation in
the Mt. Gabar region were attacked several times by Kurdish
guerrillas. The Turkish army units were never able to stop while
in the Mt. Gabar region, which is largely controlled by ARGK
guerrillas. On February 22, the Turkish army began to withdraw
after having suffered many serious blows from the guerrillas.
According to reports from local residents, more than 60 soldiers
were killed during the operation. (22.02.95)

In the Cudi mountains region, which has been under the control of
the ARGK since August 1994, Turkish army units began an
operation. On February 22, Turkish security forces in the region
were attacked in the early morning by ARGK guerrillas. According
to our correspondents, there was fighting between Kurdish
guerrillas and Turkish army units in three or four places.
(22.02.95)

On February 19, Kurdish guerrillas attacked military units of the
Turkish army south of Mus. During the 7-hour battle, 9 Turkish
soliders were killed, as were 2 Kurdish guerrillas. (22.02.95)

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