The Press Center of the People’s Defense Forces (HPG) has issued a statement about the guerrilla resistance to the Turkish invasion of South Kurdistan and the Turkish army’s attacks on the Medya Defense Areas over the past two days.
According to the statement, the resistance is concentrated on the western front of the Zap region. In the Girê Bahar and Girê Amêdî areas, a total of five Turkish soldiers were killed on Tuesday and Wednesday by snipers from the HPG and the Free Women’s Units (YJA Star).
In Girê Bahar, the guerrillas also intervened against the construction of military roads for the occupiers, and a shovel excavator was destroyed by fire from a heavy weapon. Further attacks with heavy weapons were carried out by YJA Star fighters against the Turkish troops in the Girê Cûdî area in the Zap region and in Girê Şehîd Hêmin in Xakurke.
Attacks by the Turkish army
As to the attacks by the Turkish army, the HPG reported that prohibited explosives were used against guerrilla tunnel systems in the Girê FM and Girê Cûdî areas a total of six times in the past two days.
In addition, areas in the Xakurke, Gare, Metîna, Zap and Qendîl regions were bombed 15 times by fighter jets and 12 times by attack helicopters.
In other news, guerrilla Ezda Isyan fell as a martyr in Botan in January 2024. The Press Center of the People’s Defense Forces (HPG) issued a statement to express condolences to the family, the Êzdînan tribe and the entire people of Kurdistan.
The following information was given about the martyr:
Code name: Ezda Isyan
First and last name: Gewrê Semo
Place of birth: Wan
Names of mother and father: Behîcan – Şefik
Date and place of death: January 2024 / Botan
Ezda Isyan was born in Van-Çatak (Wan-Şax) and grew up in a village in a natural environment, conscious of her Kurdish identity. In the 1990s, her family was forced to work as so-called village guards.
At that time, the Turkish state destroyed thousands of Kurdish villages and established paramilitary units that were used against the liberation movement. Anyone who opposed this vicious strategy and did not want to fight as a Kurd against the Kurdish guerrillas faced murder and expulsion of the entire family from the village. Despite massive attempts at intimidation, Ezda’s family later stopped serving the Turkish state and showed their determination to support the freedom struggle.
During this time, Ezda saw for the first time a guerrilla group that came to her village and acted modestly and respectfully towards the population. In 2014, Ezda carried out what she had long planned: she went to the mountains of Şax and became a guerrilla fighter.
Ezda received her first training in the Kato Jîrka area. She was trained in weapons and learned more about the ideological background of the PKK movement. At the same time, she learned how to move around in the mountains and cope with everyday guerrilla life. As she once said, she felt like she was reborn at that time. She saw this time as the first step towards freedom.
In 2015, the Turkish state ended the dialogue with Abdullah Öcalan and the liberation movement about a peaceful solution to the Kurdistan question and the democratization of Turkey and launched a multi-dimensional annihilation strike. The guerrillas were attacked by fighter bombers in many places. Ezda lived all that in Botan and fought in the resistance against the technically superior army. She gained combat experience and contributed to the success of guerrilla actions with her courage and intelligence.
When the Turkish military carried out extensive operations to destroy the guerrillas in Kato Jîrka in 2017, Ezda and her unit were trapped on a high mountain for two months. Soldiers had surrounded the area, and it was deep winter. Despite the difficult conditions, the group did not give up. The fighters Nûdem and Hêvî died in the cold. Ezda and other fighters suffered frostbite on their feet. The fact that the group managed to break through the siege was also thanks to Ezda. She took on a leading role, dealt with problems that arose with practical intelligence and helped her companions with determination.
Later, Ezda came to the Medya Defense Areas for military and ideological training, where she was able to question and work through her previous practice. For a while she worked at the headquarters of the Free Women’s Associations (YJA Star), then she returned to Botan, where she continued her fight until the end.