ANF spoke with the guerrillas in their positions in the Zap mountains about the details of the invasion operation launched by the Turkish army on June 16 in Southern Kurdistan’s Zap mountains on the second day of the operation.

Guerrilla commander Alan Malazgirt and YJA Star guerrillas Özgür and Rojda spoke to our cameras and made important comments. The guerrillas said the Turkish army attempts to achieve territorial control in Southern Kurdistan with this invasion operation and also shared some footage to show the effects of their actions.

Aside from the guerillas’ statements, the footage we have acquired show the extent of the clashes in the Zap mountains of Southern Kurdistan. The Turkish army is attacking the mountains from the ground and from the air. Turkish soldiers are engaged in an invasion operation in the region in Qela Bêdevê, Martyr Munzur and Gijnê. This invasion and the clashes in the region have been captured clearly on camera.

“THEY ARE ATTEMPTING TO TAKE SOUTHERN TERRITORY”

Guerrilla commander Alan Malazgirt stated that the aerial attacks have been very intense on the first day of the operation and added that the Turkish army only managed to cross the Southern Kurdistan border accompanied with fighter jets, UAVs and mortar and Howitzer fire. Malazgirt said: “The force we are faced with is one that can’t take a single step without technical advantage. This shows the weakness of the Turkish army. If an army is so dependent on technique, it means their soldiers can’t fight and they don’t trust their soldiers. Right now, they are attempting to invade parts of Southern Kurdistan. They are attacking Qela Bêdevê, Martyr Munzur and Gijnê regions harshly. In their mind this is how they will cut these regions off from the North.”

“THEY HAVE 30 CASUALTIES IN TWO DAYS”

Malazgirt said they carry out increasingly wider-spread actions against the operation and added that the Turkish army has suffered 30 casualties in two days. Malazgirt said: “Our actions against the invasion will continue to grow every day. We have killed dozens of soldiers in landmine, sabotage, heavy weapon and attack actions against this operation. We are in the middle of intense actions. They talk about how they ended us to the press, they try to make themselves look successful. The situation on the ground here is the opposite. They will face more actions and resistance the further they go into Southern territory.”

“THEY CAN’T STOP OUR ACTIONS”

YJA Star guerrillas Rojda and Özgür spoke on the guerillas’ style of action and stressed that in this war, the will of the guerrilla and tactical and methodical expertise triumphed over technique. They continued: “Since the beginning of the operation, Southern Kurdistan territories have been hit intensely every day. Now among all these attacks, we deal heavy blows to the operation forces when they least expect it. They have jet fighters, we have Kalashnikovs. Despite this disparity, they can’t stop our actions.”

“THEIR PSYCHOLOGY IS SERIOUSLY AFFECTED”

The guerrillas said their morale and motivation is high and that their actions against the invasion operation won’t stop, on the contrary, they will continue to expand. Guerrillas also said some helicopters were damaged during this operation and that the Turkish army has become more cautious about using helicopters and helicopter activity has gone down since they were hit.

The guerrillas said the Turkish state is experiencing issues with vital supplies in the region they invaded in Southern Kurdistan and that they face explosive trap actions at every turn, and that affects the psychology of the soldiers greatly.