The Turkish government on Wednesday declared nine neighborhoods “temporary special security zones” in the pre-dominantly Kurdish province of Tunceli from June 1 through June 9, in order to launch military operations against the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The nine neighborhoods, which are all within the Ovacık district of Tunceli, are listed as follows: Eroğlu neighborhood, the Plateau of Çambulak, the Mercan mountains, the Kıran river, the Kınıkan hill, the Plateau of Golan, Eğerci neighborhood, Dülbektaşı, the Kızılören neighborhood.
The Tunceli Governor’s Office issued a statement on Wednesday informing the public of the declaration. According to the statement, the general public are banned from the nine areas for the safety of their lives during the period of eight days.
The PKK is designated as a “terrorist organization” by the United States (US) and the European Union (EU), as well as Turkey. The 32-year-old conflict, which has claimed more than 40,000 lives, halted in March 2013 as part of the settlement process initiated between the PKK and the Turkish government. However, the PKK ended the ceasefire in the summer of 2015.