[4] In 2015, militants linked to the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) entered Sur district, erected barricades and dug ditches in the streets.

[10][11] The local authority banned public gatherings and imposed a 24-hour curfew in Sur on the 11 December 2015, and the Turkish Army deployed about 200 troops of the Special Forces Command to conduct house-to-house searches.

[14] Abandoned houses in various neighborhoods of Sur district were occupied by militants, and clashes between the PKK and Turkish Army and Special Forces continued until early 2016.

[18] Human Rights Watch criticized the Turkish government for 'blocking access for independent investigations into alleged mass abuses against civilians across southeast Turkey'.

In March 2016, the government launched a project for the restoration of all the damaged historic structures and the rebuilding of destroyed houses in accordance of their original style.