Memories of Zap from HPG Guerrilla Erdal Bagok

HPG guerrilla Erdal Bagok told our agency Nuçe Ciwan about the resistance of the guerrillas in the Zap region.

Zap is always an area of resistance for guerrillas. It is a battlefield. From ’96 to 2008, no matter how hard the enemy tried, they failed. Big operations were organized during that period. But their operations were always frustrated. There was a fierce war, there were attacks on the Zap region from time to time, especially the 2021 and 2022 operations were like this, they were aimed at Zap in every way. With the 2021-2022 operation, he wanted to wage a war again. The Zap force was mostly made up of our friends from the province. Haval Cemal had a saying: “We shocked them in Haftanîn, we will crush them in Zap.” We knew that there would be no attack in Zap like the battles of Haftanîn, Avaşin and Xakurkê. The war was fought there with great difficulty. However, when it came to Zap, we knew it would be a bit more difficult. Especially fighter jets and reconnaissance intensity was very high. For this reason, there was more preparation for a tough war from our side, both in the preparation of the tunnels and in terms of morale and motivation. Therefore, the state force was waiting for the war with that excitement and morale.

Already before the war started, airplanes started striking. At the beginning they wanted to strike with fighter jets and get results. But the enemy’s predictions of capturing and eliminating Zap quickly and decisively did not materialize. They knew that, but they still wanted to try. There were very tough battles, especially in the first nights. Zap’s response to the enemy’s attacks was also swift. On the first night, the enemy was given a big shock. The enemy also realized that they could not take Zap so easily. They admitted it in their own press. They were saying about us, “They have strong positions”. They also knew that this was not an easy war, they were also aware of this. All around the Zap, in places like Werxele, Sehîd Şahin, Şikefta Bîrindaran, Şikefta Karkeran, Kura Jahro, Çiya Reş, Tepê Çavreş and Tepê Rûbar, the enemy was dealt huge blows.

In the first days, the enemy’s losses were at least 300-400 people. Of course, we also suffered casualties, and the casualties we suffered were unwarranted. The comrades in Zap were experienced comrades. For example, the martyrdom in Chiyarsesh caused us great sadness. Those comrades had prepared themselves in every respect. They were martyred because they did not take the slightest precaution. Eight of our friends were martyred there. This made it very difficult for us. But those friends were avenged.

With the experiences from Avaşîn, Heftenîn and Zap, we had prepared ourselves as a whole. In fact, those friends also changed the fate of the Zap battle. Because those friends were very strong in terms of experience. Therefore, no matter how many negative aspects they had, they had more positive aspects. In every sense, the APOist spirit was at the forefront. Even though there were small flaws in the war, there was also complementarity. This was seen in the War Tunnels. Female friends and male friends complemented each other. The harmonious complementarity of the resistance enabled this resistance to hit the enemy more strongly both outside and in the tunnels. This made it possible to carry out a unique and spectacular resistance. Therefore, no matter how much we tell about the Zap Resistance, it will be an understatement…”