HPG

Kurdistan People's Defence Forces

Press Release

The operation of Turkish colonial fascism to invade Southern Kurdistan, which was initially directed against the regions of Zap, Avaşîn and Metîna, has now passed its sixth month. From the first moment, the Kurdistan Freedom Guerrilla have made every square inch of Kurdistan where the invading forces set foot a field of resistance and dealt them heavy blows.

Today, the Kurdish freedom struggle has transcended the borders of Kurdistan and has become the hope for freedom of all oppressed peoples, women and youth. Thus, it has become the nightmare of colonialist great powers. The reawakened hopes of the oppressed are wanted to be destroyed in Kurdistan, specifically in the Kurdistan Freedom Guerrilla. Despite the massive invasion attacks using forbidden and most despicable methods, our forces have been able to confront the colonialists with their determination for freedom and their unprecedented Apoist will. The past six months have once again shown everyone - friend and foe alike - the invincibility of the Kurdish guerrillas. The freedom guerrillas, armed with the Apoist philosophy, are fulfilling the demands of their historical task without hesitation, knowing that they are defending the achievements of the Kurdish people and the democratic forces. On this basis, our forces are putting up an unprecedented and courageous resistance under the most difficult conditions and with the least means. Our comrades have dealt the hardest blows to the invaders everywhere where they least expected it with their tireless energy driven by the Apoist ideology. The Kurdistan Freedom Guerrilla have creatively developed the tactics of the revolutionary people's war and, on this basis, masterfully applies the new tactics of tunnel and positional warfare and highly mobile units.

The freedom guerrillas, who are fighting professionally on all battlefields from Bakur to Bashur [Northern and Southern Kurdistan], have proved once again that no power can stop our march towards freedom. It is unwaveringly following the path of victory that our immortal commanders, comrades Sara Tolhildan Goyî and Rûken Zelal, have shown. Our comrades thwarted the lies of the enemy who claimed that they had finished off the guerrillas in Bakur and that they were no longer able to take a step. Thus, with great work, effort, will, confidence and tactical intelligence, they succeeded in dealing blow after blow to the enemy at every available opportunity, even in Northern Kurdistan. Despite all kinds of special warfare and psychological warfare, intelligence and the most modern technology, the guerrillas have also resisted in Northern Kurdistan with the greatest determination and let the enemy run into the void. The spirit of resistance of the YJA Star (Free Women’s Troops) commanders Dicle, Diren and Adar, who resisted in the province of Amed (tr. Diyarbakır) with great heroine courage, has shown how deeply rooted and invincible the guerrillas in Amed are. As in the Cudi resistance, the heroic resistance of comrades Dijwar and Yusuf in Besta shows that the Botan resistance tradition is still strong today. The heroic stance of comrades Aso Diren and Evîn Rêber in Gever strengthened the resistance character of Kurdish women during this period. Also in Omerya, Mardin, the heroic resistance of comrades Xebat and Zana, who resisted for three days against all technology and a large army contingent, left the enemy perplexed. The enemy could not liquidate these two comrades and when our friends ran out of ammunition, they gave the necessary answer to the enemy by defending the Apoist tradition according to their revolutionary honour and sacrificing themselves. It has been shown that if the strategy of the guerrilla of democratic modernity is implemented, the Turkish occupation army cannot achieve its aim even with its ground and air reconnaissance and technical superiority. The most concrete proof that the tactics of the new era can be skillfully put into practice and that big blows against the enemy are possible was provided by the practice in Botan, Amed and Mardin.

Since its beginning on 14 April 2022, the invasion attack on the areas of Zap, Avaşîn and Metîna has not been able to achieve its goal in the face of resistance from our comrades. Instead, the invading forces suffered heavy losses. The Turkish army attacked the resistance areas tens of thousands of times by fighter jets, helicopters, with howitzers, mortars, tanks and artillery. During this period, the Turkish army, which was actively supported by the KDP and at the same time actively involved village guards and jihadist mercenaries recruited from Northern Kurdistan and Syria in the war, could not achieve the desired result, although it mobilised all the technology and weapons supplied by NATO and carried out tens of thousands of attacks. The war criminal Turkish state, stuck in the face of the resistance of the Kurdish freedom guerrillas, therefore attacked the resistance areas with internationally outlawed bombs and chemical weapons in full view of the whole world. Although our armed forces documented these war crimes in a hot war situation and with the most meagre means and brought them to the attention of the whole public, the international world remained silent. The Turkish army has taken courage from this and has increased its cowardly and dishonourable attacks, which are in no way compatible with the law of war and human morality, day after day. In six months since the beginning of the occupation attacks, the most serious war crimes have been committed by attacking war tunnels and positions in the resistance areas 2476 times with prohibited bombs and chemical weapons.

Despite all these attacks, the Kurdistan Freedom Guerrilla carried out 2256 actions with a wide range of tactics, such as ambushes, infiltrations, raids, sabotage, assassinations, the use of heavy weapons, 'hit and run' actions, coordinated guerrilla actions, air defence force actions and revolutionary operations. These actions skillfully put into practice the guerrilla tactics of the new era based on the guerrilla of democratic modernity. In the process, 2346 members of the invading forces were killed and their attacks were thwarted on a large scale. The General Staff of the Turkish state and its special war media are making intensive efforts to deceive the peoples of Turkey and the world public with false scenarios and lies. Despite the limited possibilities, the few actions recorded by the guerrillas and presented to the public revealed the truth about the Turkish special war based on lies.

Only thanks to great sacrifice could the genocidal aims and invasion attacks of the war criminal Turkish state be stopped. This resistance also represents a struggle for democracy and freedom in the name of the peoples of the region, because the AKP/MHP regime is trying to flood the whole region with its fascism. The resistance against this attack of the Turkish state, which is based on the air force and all kinds of high technology, was only possible with the great love for freedom, the will to win on the line of the martyrs and the unshakeable faith created by the Apoist ideology. During the six-month war, 153 of our comrades inflicted the heaviest losses in the history of the struggle on the enemy and fell as martyrs. We once again remember with respect and gratitude all our martyrs who created a true epic of courage under the leadership of our comrades Nurî, Mizgîn, Rohat, Şaristan, Mahir, Bager, Avzem, Doğan, Nalin, Güven, Zamanî, Ronahî, Helbest, Fedaî, Siyabend, Berfîn and Mêrdîn. We promise that we will continue to strengthen the resistance based on the line of the martyrs and crown their memory with victory.

Actions carried out by our forces:

- 2256 actions involving a wide range of tactics including ambushes, infiltrations, raids, sabotage, assassinations, the use of heavy weapons, 'hit and run' actions, coordinated guerrilla actions, air defence force actions and revolutionary operations.

Casualties of the invading Turkish Army:

- A total of 2346 members of the occupation forces, including 12 counter-guerrrillas and 17 high-ranking soldiers, were killed.

- 310 members of the occupation forces were wounded.

Attacks on the Medya Defence Zones:

- 3491 air raids by fighter jets

- 4197 helicopter attacks

- 2476 uses of banned bombs under international law (phosphorus bomb, thermobaric bomb, tactical nuclear bomb) and poison gas against guerrilla tunnels and positions.

Weapons And Equipment seized:

- 10 MPT-55 infantry rifles

- 4 AK-47 infantry rifles

- 3 G-3 infantry rifles

- 3 grenade launchers

- 2 M-16 infantry rifles

- 2 HK-416 infantry rifles

- 1 BKC machine gun

- 1 B-7 rocket launcher

- 1 MPT-66 infantry rifle

- 4 pistols

- 4 grenade launcher shells

- 848 M-16 and BKC ammunition

- 18 hand grenades and numerous smoke grenades

- 4 assault waistcoats (steel)

- 4 steel shields

- 2 cartridge belts

- 9 magazines

- 7 day/night binoculars

- 3 thermal imaging devices

- 3 laser markers

- 2 infrared scopes

- 1 thermal imaging camera

- 1 pair of laser binoculars

- 4 camera systems

- 3 head-mounted cameras

- 1 portable radar system

- 24 kg of explosives

- 4 mines

- 1 remote detonator

- 1 mine detector

- 6 mobile phones

- 3 radios

- 1 solar energy panel

- 1 compass

- 4 knives (bayonets)

- 6 military backpacks

- 2 barrets

- 2 helmets

- 9 torches

- 2 UPS power converters

- 1 power bank

- 2 charges of cortex, TNT, C3

- Parts of surveillance camera systems

Destroyed Military equipment and Vehicles:

- 7 Sikorsky transport helicopters

- 3 attack helicopters

- 2 tanks

- 17 armoured vehicles - military vehicles

- 4 excavators

- 57 surveillance camera systems

- 49 drones

- 7 radar positions

- 5 thermal imaging cameras

- 2 telescopes

- 3 signal jammers

- 3 motion sensors

- 2 Audio listening device

- 1 photo trap

- 1 container

- 91 emplacements

- 24 military tents

- 1 camouflage net

- 1 poison gas delivery system

- 1 ammunition depot

- 5 A4 weapons

- 2 BKC machine guns

- 120 kg of explosives

- 7 explosive devices

- 1 A-4 position

- 2 chemical weapons

- 2 suction devices

- 1 grenade launcher

Damaged Military Equipment:

- 43 Sikorsky transport helicopters

- 32 attack helicopters

- 18 emplacements

- 12 drones

- 9 excavators

- 4 armoured military vehicles

- 3 military tents

 

October 17, 2022

HPG Press Centre