The historic resistance of the Kurdistan Freedom Guerrilla against the attacks by the Turkish army in the war tunnels in the Girê Ortê Resistance Area in the Metîna region continues. Unable to break this resistance, the occupying army used chemical weapons and banned explosives in the guerrilla tunnels. Four guerrillas were killed as a result of chemical weapons and banned explosives.
Guerrillas Şahin Armanc and Rojda Zagros, who took part in the historic resistance in the Girê Ortê Resistance Area and fought relentlessly for months, are among the guerrillas who were exposed to chemical and banned weapons.
The guerrillas, who were living witnesses of the inhumane orientation and war crimes of the occupying army, talked to ANF about their experiences.
Guerrilla Rojda Zagros: There were comrades from different areas in the war tunnels in the Girê Ortê Resistance Area. Some of them were experienced, some were not so experienced, and there were those who never participated in the operations. The enemy could not approach the tunnels for a while. The enemy first attacked the tunnels with explosives. Then he began to attack with tear-inducing and suffocating odourless gases. We knew they were using chemicals. They were using colored and odourless gas, which made people tired and gave them a headache for 3 – 4 days. They also used a chemical that looked like white powder. When they used this chemical weapon, our feet became numb, and we became weak when we started to move.
We were taking precautions against chemical gases. We were wearing masks. We would either wet a towel or a cloth and put it on the mask. We saw the benefit of this. Some of the gases used had a bleach smell, some had an apple smell, and some had a stronger smell. It burned people’s eyes and noses. We had difficulty breathing. We felt sick. Even though the enemy attacked so much and used so many chemical weapons, it was not effective. They saw this too. For this reason, day after day, they began to get closer to the tunnel door and establish dominance. They had certain hours. They attacked the tunnel gate with explosives from 11.30 to 16.30 for approximately two months. They called us many times to “surrender” saying they would give us hot food if we were coming out. Our friends were responding to every “surrender” call of the enemy with bombs. The enemy also threatened the commanders by saying, “If you do not surrender, we will use nuclear weapons.” They thought he could scare the guerrillas this way.
The enemy was conducting special war policies, but no friends were affected. No one paid attention to these discourses. The enemy then used nuclear weapons. It last made a major attack on 18 December and used chemical weapons again. About five minutes after the attack, smoke filled the room. It was a cream-colored smoke. It was odourless. I fainted at that time. I came to my senses after 7 hours. I had a stroke due to chemical gas. I could only move my eyes. I couldn’t recognize my friends. When I tried to stand up, I felt nauseous and vomited.
I passed out for 10–15 minutes. I was in so much pain. After the attack, the enemy called again, “surrender, you have nowhere to go.” Even though the friends were exhausted, they responded to the enemy’s call with bombs again. Our friends had laid mines at the tunnel door before they were martyred, and when the enemy attacked, we detonated the mines. Two occupying soldiers were affected by the explosion.
My goal and claim was to fight in the lines of my martyr comrades, not to recognize any obstacles on this path. We will not accept any life other than struggle and revenge.
Guerrilla Şahin Armanc: The enemy launched an attack on the Girê Ortê Resistance Area of the Metina region in July 2023. We also carried out many actions against this. When the enemy first arrived, he suffered several heavy blows. Because we were already prepared. We took effective actions. It was July, the weather was hot, reconnaissance planes were flying all over us. When the enemy launched an attack, we carried out actions with heavy weapons. The enemy also suffered losses in these actions. Our morale and motivation were high. The enemy could not approach the tunnel entrance due to fear for about 2–3 months. Due to our sabotage actions, the enemy could not get near.
After the enemy detected our entrance, they started using chemical weapons. There was a red gas used by the enemy. It was burning our noses and eyes. We couldn’t open our eyes. We had masks, but we could protect ourselves with them. The soldiers used black gas. It burned our throats. We had difficulty breathing.
Another chemical gas used by the enemy did not seem to bother us at first, but later we felt like we were suffocating. It is a very heavy chemical gas. You faint the moment you move. There is a possibility of you dying if you stay in that gas for 2–3 hours.