Date August 2015-May 2016 | Location Şırnak, Turkey | |
 | ||
Goals Establish autonomous government in Şırnak Methods Armed conflict
Urban guerrilla warfare Result Turkish Government victory
PKK fail to establish autonomous region
Destruction of Silopi and Cizre | ||
The 2015–16 Şırnak clashes were a series of armed clashes in the southeastern province of Şırnak, between Turkish government forces and Kurdish armed groups, as part of the Turkey-PKK conflict.
Contents
Background
Following the 2015 Suruç bombing, the ceasefire between the Turkish government and the PKK ended after the PKK executed two police officers in their sleep on 22 July. In retaliation, the Turkish Air Force began striking PKK camps in Northern Iraq, beginning a new phase of the Turkey-PKK conflict. The re-escalation of the conflict between the PKK and the Turkish government caused a rise of discontent in the Kurdish-majority southeast.
2015
The first armed incident in Şırnak Province took place on 28 July when the Turkish Air Force bombed PKK fighters in the countryside. The clashes in Şırnak began to escalate following a bomb explosion that damaged a section of the Ceyhan-Kirkuk pipeline within Şırnak Province on July 29 and an ambush by the PKK on July 30 which killed 3 Turkish soldiers. On 4 August, PKK forces attacked a guard post in Şırnak Province with an RPG, killing one soldier and injuring another. In a separate incident in the province, a mine killed two soldiers. Turkish F-16s targeting PKK camps in Hakkari Province in an act of retaliation. A PKK bomb explosion killed one civilian in Cizre on 5 August.
On 7 August, Turkish Police clashed with PKK and YDG-H forces in Silopi, Cizre and Uludere and PKK-affiliated militants hijacked a minibus in Beytüşşebap. 4 police officers and 1 army conscript were killed by separate PKK-affiliated attacks in Şırnak Province on 10 August. Turkish forces exterminated 2 PKK militants following clashes in Beytüşşebap on 13 August. Between 5–10 September, Turkey placed the first curfew on Cizre following an incursion by PKK forces. 30 people were killed during the clashes, HDP leader Selahattin Demirtaş claiming 20 of which were civilians although the Turkish government challenged this claim. Heavy clashes in Şırnak Province took place between 25–26 September, with the PKK claiming to have killed 75 soldiers and losing 14 militants while Turkish forces claimed to have killed 36 militants and lost 2 soldiers.
On 21 November, Turkish Air Force targeted PKK positions in Şırnak Province. On 15 December, Turkish forces launched large scale anti-terror operations in Silopi and Cizre after PKK-affiliated militias set up barricades in the towns. By 17 December, Turkish forces had claimed to have exterminated between 55-70 PKK militants in the two towns. The HDP leader Selahattin Demirtaş called on locals to resist the operations and support the PKK. On 31 December, 1 soldier was killed and 5 others injured following a PKK rocket attack.