The forest fire that broke out on the Mount Gabar in the Kurdish province of Şırnak one week ago is spreading. In the meantime, the flames have reached the town of Findik in the Güçlükonak district. The authorities have not made any attempts to extinguish the fire so far.

The fire first erupted the highest point of the mountain a week ago and the flames then spread to the settlement areas of Deriyê Gabar, Bêsûkê (Koçağılı), Deşta Dêrşew, Qernê, Bîrava and Memîrûka. In Bêsûkê village the fire could be extinguished by the residents on their own initiative, but in the meantime the flames continued to spread in the direction of Zivingû (Köprüçe) village.

The cause of the fire is still unclear, but it is suspected that the fire was caused by Turkish soldiers. Military activities are also currently taking place in the region around Gabar, with attack helicopters flying over the mountain almost non-stop. People from the region complain that thousands of trees and animals have already fallen victim to the flames.

For years the nature of Kurdistan has been destroyed by the military through systematically laid fires. On Mount Cudi there has been a continuous fire for more than three months.