Turkish army intensifies shelling on Nusaybin, Sirnak

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (Kurdistan24) - On Monday, two Turkish soldiers were killed in clashes with the Kurdish fighters in Turkey's predominantly-Kurdish southeastern towns of Nusaybin and Sirnak.

Kurdistan24 learned from security sources that clashes have been intensified between a new youth formation of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) known as the Kurdish Civilian Protection Units (YPS) and the Turkish army in Nusaybin and Sirnak.

According to Kurdistan24 news team in Diyarbakir, the clashes left at least two Turkish soldiers dead and about five Kurdish fighters lost their lives in Firat neighborhood in Nusaybin.

Additionally, Netherlands-based Kurdish Firat News Agency (ANF), a close associate to the military wing of PKK, reported the same death toll on the Turkish side without mentioning any casualty on the Kurdish side.

In Sirnak, Kurdistan24 news team in Diyarbakir could reach both Turkish security and Kurdish military.

So far, the Turkish authorities have not reported any casualties on Sirnak, while the Kurdish sources of YPS reported the death of several civilians and the destruction of dozens of houses in Yeni and Ismetpasha neighborhoods.

"Clashes in this area have been going on for a week now and unable to advance, state forces try to enter neighborhoods by demolishing houses," ANF reported on Monday.

Up to the present moment, no accurate number has been reported on the death and casualty toll in both Nusaybin and Sirnak as the clashes are continuous and both towns suffer from destruction and security disruptions.

On March 14, the Turkish authorities declared a curfew in Mardin’s districts of Nusaybin and Sirnak. For nearly two months, both towns witnessed unceasing shelling after clashes between the Turkish army and the Kurdish fighters of PKK, along with their new youth formations YPS and HPG. 

Turkey’s southeast has been scorched by violence since a ceasefire between the PKK and the Turkish government collapsed last July. Round-the-clock curfews were instituted in parts of the southeast.

Reporting by Hisham Arafat

Editing by Ava Homa