People's Defense Central Headquarters Command member Amed Malazgirt spoke to ANF about the Turkish state’s invasion operation on Zap, recent confrontations and the current situation in the battle between the guerrillas and the Turkish army.

"They have this minister. Wherever there's an operation, he visits the unsuccessful soldiers to give them morale and show them they are there for them," said Malazgirt, pointing to Turkish Minister of Interior Affairs Süleyman Soylu, and said: "In all operation grounds he visits, whichever commander he connects with, they get killed." Malazgirt then listed some examples: "Take the Elîşêr Hill operation, the captain they boasted of was killed on that hill. During the Ertuș operation, the captain who gave an interview on the Koordine Hill was killed just one day after it. They boasted of how successful the command ranks in the Kato operation were, all of the commanders who coordinated that battle were killed. During the spring operation in Çarçella, the coordinating Major of the operation and his whole unit were killed." 

"We took an oath, we will avenge the Kurdish people. We will build the free Kurdistan for Kurds and other Kurdistanis," said People's Defense Central Headquarters Command member Amed Malazgirt and answered our questions about the outcome of the invasion operation the Turkish army launched on June 16 on the Zap region in the Medya Defense Zones and the scope of the war in the Zagros region. 

Turkish state officials say they are almost done, they have almost ended the PKK in every speech they give. Are you almost done? 

The colonialist Turkish state and the AKP government have been saying they will end the PKK for two years, since they rekindled the war. They always say they will end it, and the guerillas' actions continue to grow every day. Let's not forget, under the cover of PKK, the AKP government is waging a war on the Kurdish people on the maximum level. They have filled the prisons to the brim, they have mobilized all their fighting power and technical equipment against the guerilla. It is not possible to 'end' us. There is a simple explanation for this, to end us they have to end the Kurdish people. And it is not possible to end the Kurdish people. 

The Turkish politicians fighting against us in the '90s used the same style, the same narrative against us, they kept saying 'there are so few of them left, they are done for, they will be ended, these are their last actions'. That was how they deceived the public. And now the AKP government continues this tradition. 

They were so sure of themselves last winter. They said they will end the PKK until spring, that the PKK would not be able to see the spring. They have this minister. Wherever there's an operation, he visits the unsuccessful soldiers to give them morale and show them they are there for them. In all operation grounds he visits, whichever commander he connects with, they get killed. 

Can you give some examples? 

I will give you a few examples. 

- In the Elîşêr Hill operation, the captain they boasted of was killed on that hill. 

- During the Ertuș operation, the captain who gave an interview on the Koordine Hill was killed just one day after it. 

- They boasted of how successful the command ranks in the Kato operation were, all of the commanders who coordinated that battle were killed. 

- During the spring operation in Çarçella, the coordinating Major was killed. They said he fell off a cliff to his death. UT that was a lie, because a whole unit was killed. And they only spike if the major and some officers with him in the news. 

Can you talk about the current situation in the Zagros mountains and give a little detail? 

We are focused on defense against the attacks of the Turkish army, and we expand the scope of our actions in every step. We had some actions in the winter. With the spring, actions throughout Kurdistan kicked off and continue and develop. We have now in the summer months, the guerrilla have effective actions every day. 

In the Zagros area, they think they can break us through the stockpiling of war equipment and troops for two years. It is true that there are operations, but they are not successful. Their mood is down, they are miserable. Our friends foil their technological advancement for the most time. Of course we have losses too, there are actions every day from Şemzînan to Gever, to Colemêrg and Çelê. 

Specifically in the Ertuş area, there is a nonstop battle. As the soldiers stationed there suffer heavy blows, there are reinforcements coming in every two weeks. After every action, the survivors are removed. 

The TV shows filmed with fixed scenarios where TV presenters are taken to settled territory with many amenities don’t reflect the truth. 

You also started a campaign on June 9. 

The Martyr Bedran Gundikremo and Martyr Nalin Muş Revolutionary Campaign is an operation we launched against the Turkish army all throughout the Zagros mountains. We have developed actions in several areas, from small to large scale. We launched the campaign simultaneously in Şemzînan, Gever, Çelê and Colemêrg. It has been successful. It has been a great answer to void the AKP propaganda since the winter. The same guerilla that wasn’t supposed to see the spring carried out various actions with the coming spring. In Şemzînan (Şemdinli), they moved in on 20 bodies to lift their weapons. They dealt a heavy blows with the ambush in Xapuşkê. In Çelê, they hit their mark every time they acted. 

When they saw that our campaign was spreading and growing in waves, they launched a counter operation. They launched the operation on Ertuş, Koordine (Güven) and Havan (Gergi) Hills in particular, because our friends had been active there since the winter, many soldiers were killed. The soldiers are unable to stay there anymore. For instance, in one action on the Koordine Hill, 56 of our friends were given the duty, the attack was carried out in 5 branches, half of the hill was taken and several enemy soldiers were killed. Our friends downed a Sikorsky, the army accepted that they were hit by a missile and the helicopter was downed. Then they realized that it didn’t actually land on our side, so the next morning they went to the wreckage. They started saying that the helicopter made a controlled landing. That is not true. We started our campaign with the downing of the Sikorsky. 

What operations did the Turkish army launch after that? 

After these blows, they launched a more extensive operation on June 16. They crossed the border 3 km into the South’s territory. They attempted to invade Southern Kurdistan territory from the Gijnê village to the Bedewê village in an operation with a large number of soldiers and intense jet fighter and technology use. This was foreseen so our r friends were prepared. It was obvious that there was going to be an operation against the actions that continued since winter. Preparations were ready in many locations, both for settling and sabotage and assassination actions. 

How did it start? What was the guerilla’s first reaction? 

The enemy launched an intense bombing the night before and crossed into Southern territory in the early morning. With them moving in the morning, our friends hit the operation forces with sabotages, assassinations and effective guerrilla style actions. They had to stop thinking of advancing and tried to portent themselves in the location they had been airdropped. They were hit wherever they moved. For the first two days, they spoke about the operation a lot, they said we had many losses and they were about to achieve great results. When it didn’t turn out the way they planned, they stopped talking about it. Every day, our friends infiltrated them and carried out sabotages and assassinations, as well as hitting them with heavy weapons. In the end, a special unit that attempted an attack was completely eliminated, and they took the remaining soldiers away with Sikorskys aided by jets. One unit on their way from Çelê to Van thought they finally made it out... 

They didn’t? 

They didn’t. Our friends were on an ambush in case there were reinforcement or retreating troops on the Colemêrg-Çelê road. The captain in charge of that convoy and 20 of his soldiers were killed. 

The operation lasted 24 days. Didn’t you have any losses? 

Of course we did. During the 24 day long operation, 6 of our friends were martyred in the operation and 7 of our friends were martyred in aerial attacks on Zap. So, a total of 13 friends were martyred. Other than them, we didn’t lose anybody but the martyrdom of these 13 friends was heavy on us. All our friends participated in this process heroically and with great sacrifice. 

Friend Mervan was hitting the enemy day and night since last year, especially since the spring and he commanded his forces. 

Friend Bager was present in all Koordine actions as part of the attack group. He infiltrated the hill, killed many soldiers and carried our successful actions. Friend Bager was also martyred in the aerial attacks in this last operation. 

Friend Harun Çelê was an active friend in the very front in particularly Ertuş and Koordine, he was a man of sacrifice who knew how to defend himself. He was martyred in the aerial attacks. 

Friend Seher was a true guardian of her people, she knew how to protect herself in battle and how to strike the enemy hardest. 

Friend Rojen was martyred in this operation process. 

Friend Hawar Başkale wanted to go on a solitary action on the outpost. He was a sacrificing man. He came across an enemy unit on his way, he went in alone and killed several soldiers, but then was martyred. 

All of these friends are heroes, with a sacrificial spirit they never took a step back, they never let the enemy advance even a little, despite all hardships. The spirit of resistance in these heroic friends will never allow the Turkish invasion army to achieve control in the Zagros Mountains. Hundreds of similarly heroic friends are still in resistance against the invasion operations. Thus, even if the Turkish army mobilizes all their resources, they can’t control the Zagros Mountains and can’t escape the heavy hits. 

Why did the Turkish army retreat? Didn’t things go the way they wanted, or planned for? 

This operation had two goals: 

- To stop our actions in Ertuş and to fortify the Koordine-Havan-Ertuş line, 

- To enter the South, hold strategic positions via intense aerial attacks, and continue onwards if they could. With this, they wanted to make themselves look successful and to tell the public that they didn’t only fight in the North but they also took the initiative and entered the South. 

Their plans did not come true. Our friends carried out two effective actions on the Gijnê outskirts in two locations, two separate actions in the evening hours. The army came at 22.00 to 23.00 with scout and attack aircrafts and Sikorskys aides by Cobras. We thought there would be as economic operation, but we saw in the morning that they pulled all of their forces back. They positioned their forces further back on Koordine, Ertuş and Martyr Jihat lines. In my opinion, with this step they will have to recalculate. 

What do they have to do? What is it that you expect? 

In the coming days, especially on the border line, the battle will intensify. The enemy will make an account of the 24 day long operation and make new plans. They may risk further losses and take another step as well. The fighting in the Zagros Mountains looks like it’s going to get more intense by mid summer or fall. Not just in these areas where the operations are taking place either. Now they launched an operation in the Xapuşkê area of Govendê and they wish to close off the border. Our friends are in clashes there as well. I don’t believe this operation will yield results either. 

How will your response be? Will you be making a reassessment of the situation? 

In the coming days our hits on these operational forces will increase and intensify, and parallel to that, the intensity of the war will increase. We are assessing the situation, we discuss how our response to the operations be or what kind of actions we will carry out. We are a guerrilla force, if a hill needs to be protected, we will defend it if necessary even if the Turkish army comes at us with all their resources, but if it’s not necessary we won’t hold it at all.We will carry out our actions individually, in pairs, in 40-50 people groups as necessary and spread them everywhere. These are our guerrilla athletes and methods, we will be everywhere when necessary, and when it is not a necessity we will be nowhere. This is our general guerrilla perspective. Our goal is to pull the enemy to where we want them and deliver effective blows. I don’t believe the Turkish army is capable of stopping guerrilla actions. 

Our guerrilla will see the weaknesses of the enemy and strike, wherever and however that may be, for sure. For instance, last night in Gever again, there was an action on the special operations units in the airport. Again in Şapatan a convoy was hit. The Zagros guerrilla won’t let the Turkish soldiers through, they won’t be able to stay or move comfortably on the border or crossing into the South. Whatever the risk, whatever the price, we will face it and fight against this colonialist invading army at the topmost level. We will break the Turkish army in the mountains of Kurdistan. We are the ones who will prevail, the Turkish army is doomed to fail. 

What stage is the Martyr Bedran Gundikremo and Martyr Nalin Muş Revolutionary Campaign at now? Will it continue, or will it end? 

It has turned out like we planned and it has been successful so far. Our goal is to not limit this campaign to just one area but to develop it further and spread it throughout the Zagros Mountains. That took off with the Koordine action and continued with the Ertuş action. Our campaign will continue throughout the Zagros Mountains with smaller and larger scale actions. We will launch the second phase as well, depending on the situation. 

There are people working at the Turkish state’s construction sites for security roads and outposts. Sometimes they are targeted by actions as well. Do you have anything to tell them? 

The enemy has focused on building outposts and works through bids. We had issued this warning before, no Kurd or civilian worker should work for these security bids. Because those security bids and tenders are targets for the guerilla. 

We have sworn an oath, we will avenge the Kurdish people. They murdered our civilian people. Şırnak, Cizre, Silopi are there for all your see. In the streets of Amed, they murdered defenseless, unarmed people from age 7 to 70. They murdered dozens of patriots in Gever. So we, as the children of this people, will avenge our people. We will build the free Kurdistan for Kurds and other Kurdistani peoples.