August 1992 Şırnak Clashes were a series of clashes that broke out in the city of Şırnak between
Kurdistan Workers' Party
The Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK is a Kurdish militant political organization and armed guerrilla movement, which historically operated throughout Kurdistan, but is now primarily based in the mountainous Kurdish-majority regions of south ...
(PKK) and
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
security forces from 18 to 21 August 1992, after PKK members had built barricades and attacked the District Gendarmerie Command's building with rockets and mortars.Page 231 /ref> During this battle over 20,000 of Şırnak's 25,000 inhabitants fled the town due to the violence. A total of 107 people were killed, including 85 rebels and 22 civilians.
The clashes started when a large force of PKK rebels attacked government buildings in Şırnak on the night of 18 August, and security forces responded by shelling and firing on rebel positions. Following the battle, a curfew was imposed in the town.
Similar operations were later launched in the towns of
Kulp
KULP (1390 AM, 106.7 FM) is a radio station, paired with an AM revitalization FM relay translator, licensed to El Campo, Texas. The station airs a country music format and is owned by Wharton County Radio, Inc.Diyarbakır Province on 3 October 1992, and Varto in Muş Province on 17 September 1996.
British journalist
Christopher de Bellaigue
Christopher de Bellaigue (born 1971 in London) is a journalist who has worked on the Middle East and South Asia since 1994. His work mostly chronicles developments in Iran and Turkey.
Biography
De Bellaigue, who attended Eton College, is from an ...
, in his book '' Rebel Land: Among Turkey's Forgotten People'' claimed that ''"when the dust settled, and guerilla numbers were revised steadily downwards and locals started to talk, it became clear that there had been no PKK force, not even a small one resent in the town The battle of Sirnak had not been a battle but a drawn out punitive spasm, a two-day spree by vandals wearing the colours of the Turkish state and trashing anything they saw"''