Village guards (Turkish: Korucular, officially Geçici ve Gönüllü Köy Korucuları ("temporary and voluntary village guards")) are paramilitaries recruited mostly from ethnic Kurds. Originally they were set up and funded by the Turkish state in the mid-1980s under the direction of Turgut Özal. Their stated purpose was to act as a local militia in towns and villages, protecting against attacks and reprisals from the insurgents of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). The rationale behind set up of the system was that it would be helpful to the Turkish Army to have an additional force of people who knew the region, and the language in order to assist in military operations against the PKK.