Families protesting the PKK in front of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) headquarters in southeastern Diyarbakır province on Monday expressed strong support for Türkiye’s military operations abroad after the terrorist group killed 12 Turkish soldiers.

The sit-in protest initiated by families holding the HDP responsible for the abduction of their children has, so far, gone on for 1,576 days, or over four years.

The families, waiting with Turkish flags for their children, expressed their sorrow for the Turkish soldiers who were killed in clashes with terrorists trying to infiltrate the Operation Claw-Lock base area in northern Iraq.

Ayşegül Biçer, who was earlier reunited with her son thanks to the sit-in protest, said in a statement on behalf of the families: "We feel the sorrow of losing 12 children due to the terrorist group's attacks. We stand by our soldiers and fully support the operations being carried out."

Nazlı Sancar, another mother taking part in the sit-in, also expressed great sadness over the fallen soldiers.

Sancar said, referring to suspected links between the party and the terror group: "We've been fighting for our children here for years. We want our rightfully deserved children. We're not leaving here; we're not leaving our children to the HDP and PKK."

The protest started when Hacire Akar turned up at the doorstep of the HDP’s Diyarbakır office one night, demanding to be reunited with her son. Akar’s son Mehmet returned home on Aug. 24, 2019, giving hope to other families. A week later, on Sept. 3, 2019, families inspired by Akar staged a collective sit-in protest.

Demonstrations have since spread to other provinces, including Van, Muş, Şırnak and Hakkari.

Families have not given up their posts despite difficult conditions, at times being threatened or ridiculed by the HDP officials and those with links to the PKK terrorist organization. The protests continued despite the coronavirus pandemic, with the families taking the necessary precautions.

A significant number of suspected terrorists have begun to flee the PKK and surrender, but many terrorists lack the courage to leave the group out of fear of severe punishment if caught.

Since the PKK terrorist attacks last week, which killed 12 soldiers, Turkish airstrikes have destroyed dozens of terror targets in northern Iraq and Syria, eliminating many terrorists.

Following the terrorist attack in northern Iraq, Türkiye reaffirmed its determination to fight and eliminate terrorism at its source.

PKK terrorists often hide in northern Iraq to plot cross-border attacks in Türkiye. It also has a Syrian branch, known as the YPG.

Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Lock in April 2022 to target the PKK terror group's hideouts in the Metina, Zap and Avasin-Basyan regions of northern Iraq, located near the Turkish border.