The Iraqi army has been trying to surround the Maxmur refugee camp with wire fences and towers since 20 May.

The people of Maxmur have been resisting the siege attempt for 11 days.

The people of the camp, who filled the trenches dug by the Iraqi army with their hands and set up barricades with their bodies to prevent the advance of the soldiers, continue to keep Kurdish culture and art alive in the resistance tent.

Taking part in the resistance as an activist, Dengbêj Xelîl Mehmud is also a source of morale with his strong voice.

Mehmud, who is from the village of Hîlal in Şirnak’s Qilaban district, had to leave the lands he was born in in the 1990s due to the persecution by the Turkish state.

The dengbêj, who lives in Maxmur, sings to strengthen the resistance against the attack by the Iraqi army.

Mehmud said that the camp is for them the only safe place and that resisting is their only option. "They are persecuting us," he said, adding that after the embargo, the siege attempt is a new attack on the residents.

However, dengbêj Mehmud emphasized that no one in the camp accepted this attack, and demanded that this persecution should be ended.

Mehmud called on Kurdish artists to support the resistance with their strans (songs). "All artists and personalities should raise their voices condemning the persecution against Maxmur. This camp is the work of Leader Apo [Abdullah Öcalan]. It was founded with the blood of martyrs. Everyone should take care of it.”