According to reports coming through Turkish Army troops have asked for the villages in the Anadere (Oranýs) Region of Tatvan/Bitlis to be emptied.

The army authorities called the village representatives and told them to leave their villages as soon as possible. Moreover, there are rumors that the region will soon be bombed with helicopters and howitzers.

In the region of Bitlis where military activity is quite high nowadays, the people have already been threatened not to go in certain areas.

The threats of new forced evacuation of villages is a painful remainder of the 1990's when thousand villages were burned and forcibly emptied.

Translator: Berna Ozgencil