ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Turkish interior ministry announced on Saturday that it had launched a new stage of a military operation against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the eastern province of Agri. The ministry began the first phase of Operation Eren in both Agri and Van provinces on January 11 and extended it to a second phase on January 20 in the Lice region of Diyarbakir province. It declared the third phase of the operation on Saturday. The new phase targets alleged PKK positions on Mount Ararat, and involves 59 operational teams of 1,040 personnel from the gendarmerie, police, and village guards, according to a statement from the ministry. The operation is named after 15-year-old Eren Bulbul who was killed during a clash between Turkish forces and the PKK in Trabzon province on August 11, 2017. According to Turkish media, Bulbul had spotted some PKK fighters in his hometown Macka and informed the police of it. He accompanied the police to the area and was killed. The PKK confirmed their involvement in the clash, but did not mention Bulbul. Turkey accuses the PKK for his death, and has cast him as a hero in their fight against the arm group ever since. State-owned Anadolu Agency (AA) published footage of the forces attending to Eren’s third phase on the mountain, which is covered with snow. The PKK is an armed group struggling for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey. It is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara. Turkey frequently attacks the group’s alleged position at home and in northern Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region. It launched operations codenamed Kapan and Yildirim in 2020 against the group inside Turkey. It also launched air-based Operation Claw-Eagle and ground-based Operation Claw-Tiger in Kurdistan in mid-June 2020 - the latter one continues.
