Six villages in Turkey’s Kurdish-populated southeastern province of Şırnak (Şırnex) have been under a Turkish military blockade for the last 10 days, Mezopotamya News reported on Monday.
The Turkish security forces boosted their presence in Şırnak after 12 regions in the province were declared temporary military security zones on 17 May.
Turkish troops are controlling entry and exit to six villages in the Cizre (Cizîr) district of the province and running security checks on residents, Mezopotamya said.
Villagers in the Yüksekova (Gever) district of the southeastern province of Hakkari (Colemêrg) were also affected by the Turkish military’s operations, that began on 3 March, Özgür Politika reported on Sunday.
In the province’s village of Qesran, armoured vehicles were parked for hours in front of houses, the newspaper said.
In Êlê, another village declared a temporary security zone on 17 March, Turkish soldiers carried out searches, breaking windows and doors to enter houses, it added. The Turkish military also turned a historical Armenian church in the village into a guardsmen lodge, according to Özgür Politika.
Both Şırnak and Hakkari border Kurdish populated northern Iraq, where the Turkish military regularly carry out attacks against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
