A forest fire has broken out on Mount Gabar in the province of Şırnak. The affected region is under access restrictions for “security reasons” and is mainly used by the military, village guards, and energy companies.
A forest fire has broken out in a restricted military area on Mount Gabar in the Kurdish province of Şırnak. According to local reports, strong winds are causing the flames to spread rapidly to surrounding forest areas.
The affected area is closed to the public for “security reasons” and may only be entered by military personnel, so-called “village guards” and employees of the Turkish state oil company TPAO, which is searching for raw materials in the region.
It was initially unclear whether and to what extent firefighters or other emergency services were on site. There is also no official information about the cause of the fire. The remote location and limited access could hamper firefighting efforts.
Mount Gabar is considered rich in natural resources and has long been the scene of Turkish warfare in Kurdistan. It is not uncommon for fires to be deliberately set by the army, as the Turkish state has been systematically targeting areas for decades in order to make them uninhabitable and drive the Kurdish population out of their villages. In recent years, the state-owned TPAO has also significantly expanded its oil exploration activities in Gabar and other mountainous areas in Şırnak. Environmental organizations have long criticized the destruction of nature through deforestation, military infrastructure measures, and fires.
