We have a counterattack from the Kurds, who are avenging the Turkish attacks in Syria and Northern Iraq. The HBDH militias announce that they carried out a sabotage operation targeting luxury yachts and boats of the AKP and MHP in Istanbul.
HPG Press Center: “Kurdish rebels ambushed Turkish invaders who wanted to advance to Girê area and killed 10 invaders.”
The Kurds now seem determined to fight the last battle for their existence. The fight for their survival continues and is only a few kilometers away from its end.
The Turkish government is trying to retake important urban areas in the southeastern provinces from Kurdish militants. The “war of the cities”, the new phase in the Turkish-Kurdish conflict requires a careful analysis focusing on the following six points:
it is the first time in history that the PKK and its affiliated groups have sought large-scale urban control in Kurdish areas. The PKK moved the war from the rural areas to the urban areas.
the PKK has not been directly involved in the “war on the cities” waged, mainly, by its affiliated Kurdish organizations.
if the PKK-affiliated organizations prolong the fighting in the urban areas for a long time, it will cause a radical change in the relations between the Turkish government and
government security forces are having difficulty fighting in urban areas and it is doubtful whether they will be able to end this type of warfare.
The experience of the Middle East teaches that urban guerrilla warfare does not end so easily.
the cost of the “war of the cities” is very different from the previous phases of the Turkish-Kurdish conflict, as there is a large number of demographic shifts. Hundreds of thousands of Kurds are fleeing battleground cities. Population movements are likely to worsen the situation.
the shape of the Kurdish problem is changing and gaining enormous importance for Turkish public opinion which, for the first time, sees images of destroyed cities similar to those in Iraq and Lebanon. At the same time, it is also the first time that he has seen tanks operating and firing cannons in the middle of large cities, while the use of heavy weapons also causes further negative connotations. This situation may widen the psychological gap between Turks and Kurds.
