The mountains, plains, streams and forests of Şirnex (Şırnak) have been continuously destroyed for 5 years by village guards under the supervision of soldiers. Especially in the last 2 years, Gabar Mountain has been targeted with oil exploration, fortress construction and forest destruction. In the mountains, forest areas in the countryside of villages that have been banned under the name of "special security" zones since the 90s are being destroyed by village guards in front of the eyes of soldiers.

 

VILLAGE GUARD HEADS COMMERCIALISE THE SLAUGHTER

 

Trees that were initially cut down for the "security" of fortresses, towers and oil drilling wells have recently been commercialised by village guards. The village guards threaten citizens in the region, force them to sign a petition and slaughter their lands. The centuries-old oak trees that are cut down and the oak trees that have just started to grow are transported by tractors from the mountainous areas to the plains. From there, they are loaded onto trucks and taken to different cities to be sold. Every day nearly 100 trucks transport trees cut in this way.

 

TONNES OF TREE STUMPS STACKED

 

In Gabar, where oil plunder continues, the slaughter of trees continues rapidly. The slaughter is particularly intensified in Xûrs and Basret villages, which have been off-limits to civilians on the grounds of "security" since the 90s. In the villages, which are declared "special security zones" by the Şırnak Governorate every 15 days, new images of the slaughter have emerged. Hundreds of tonnes of tree stumps are stacked on top of each other on the roadsides. Nearly 500 metres to the right and left of the road, the stumps are still covered with green leaves. The logs stacked in this way by the village guards are loaded onto trucks and taken to different cities after being kept waiting for a while.

 

MA / Zeynep Durgut