Deforestation efforts, initiated under military supervision and carried out by village guards and private contractors, persist across several regions of Şırnak including Cudi and Gabar mountains, as well as Besta, Cilênimêja, Komato, and Qaşuran. The operations, ongoing since 2021, are officially framed as part of “oil exploration,” yet locals and activists identify them as a systematic ecological assault.

 

Footage from Zivingo village shows a herd of endangered mountain goats and their young in distress, visibly abandoning their natural habitat.

 

Much of the logging is reportedly carried out by village guards and private companies. In some areas, it is also organized through village heads or local individuals who have made unofficial agreements with authorities. The operations are conducted under military watch, contributing to a deeper ecological crisis. Recent footage shows vast areas stripped of trees, with logs uprooted, transported, and stacked en masse.

 

A GROWING ECOLOGICAL CATASTROPHE

 

The number of villages stripped of trees along the Gabar Mountain corridor has now surpassed 20. Similar deforestation has occurred in other mountainous areas such as Cudi, Besta, Herekol, and Cilênimêja. According to local reports, hundreds of thousands of trees have been cut in recent years. After the logging, the region has seen a spike in timber trade, despite opposition from local residents. Even though locals frequently voice their opposition, their concerns are consistently ignored, sources said. 

 

LEGAL COMPLAINTS IGNORED, AUTHORITIES SILENT

 

Despite numerous criminal complaints filed by villagers and the Şırnex Bar Association regarding this environmental destruction, no investigation has been launched. The Şırnex Provincial Directorate of Forestry remains silent and continues to turn a blind eye to the deforestation.

 

MA / Zeynep Durgut