The press centre of the People's Defence Forces (HPG) has published the names of five fallen guerrilla fighters. Accordingly, Çekdar Oremar, Mardîn Penaber, Roza Hedar, Rojhat Dilbirîn and Serhed Agirî were killed in a poison gas attack by the Turkish army on 4 July at Girê Hekarî in the region of Metîna in the guerrilla-held Medya Defense Zones in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq).

The identity information of the fallen guerrillas is as follows:

Nom de Guerre: Çekdar Oramar
First-Last Name: İhsan Turus
Birthplace: Hakkari
Mother's-Father's Name: Ayşe – Hamit
Date and Place of Martyrdom: 4 July 2022 / Metîna

Nom de Guerre: Mardîn Penaber
First-Last Name: Beybûn Kara
Birthplace: Maxmur
Mother's-Father's Name: Medine – Cemil
Date and Place of Martyrdom: 4 July 2022 / Metîna

Nom de Guerre: Roza Hedar
First-Last Name: Pakize Gündüz
Birthplace: Amed
Mother's-Father's Name: Besra – Celal
Date and Place of Martyrdom: 4 July 2022 / Metîna

Nom de Guerre: Rojhat Dilbirîn
First-Last Name: Yunus Sümer
Birthplace: Amed
Mother's-Father's Name: Zübeyde – Ramazan
Date and Place of Martyrdom: 4 July 2022 / Metîna

Nom de Guerre: Serhed Agirî
First-Last Name: Tahri Mustafa Cuma
Birthplace: Kobanê
Mother's-Father's Name: Zelixa – Mustafa
Date and Place of Martyrdom: 4 July 2022 / Metîna

"In the face of the resistance of the guerrillas who are fighting today in the free mountains of Kurdistan for people to live like human beings, the Turkish state is not succeeding in achieving the results it wants. For this reason, it is attacking the Kurdistan freedom guerrillas with internationally outlawed bombs and chemical weapons. In the Girê Hekarî resistance area in Metîna, an epic resistance against the Turkish occupation has been carried out. From the battle tunnels and with mobile guerrilla units, massive blows were dealt to the enemy with rich forms of action. The guerrillas seized weapons and military equipment from the enemy soldiers and shot down a helicopter. Our companions Çekdar, Mardîn, Roza, Rojhat and Serhed were the architects of this resistance. They fought professionally with great sacrifice and conviction of victory and taught the enemy a historical lesson. The Turkish state, aiming at genocide, has once again committed a war crime in a dishonourable way, and our comrades have fallen due to the use of chemical weapons for days. Nevertheless, the Turkish state has not been able to break the legendary Apoist resistance", the HPG said, and expressed their condolences to the relatives of the martyrs and the Kurdish people.

Çekdar Oremar

Çekdar Oremar was born in Yüksekova district of Hakkari and belonged to the Oremarî tribe. Many of his relatives joined the Kurdish liberation movement and he knew the PKK as a child. He joined the guerrillas in 2014 in response to the ISIS attack on Kobanê. He was already used to hard work from his family and was aware that even in the mountains all achievements had to be worked for. His selfless commitment was complemented by ideological and military training. He concentrated on the new guerrilla tactics and learned the professional use of various weapons. At the same time, he showed great dedication in the construction of tunnels. In the Zap, Cilo and Gare areas, he participated in the construction of the necessary infrastructure and in various guerrilla actions. In the process, he acquired important military experience and finally went to Metîna in 2018, where he worked and fought at Girê Hekarî until the end.

Mardîn Penaber

Mardîn Penaber was born in Maxmur and belonged to the Goyî tribe. The population of Maxmur Camp is made up of those displaced by the village burnings in the Botan region of northern Kurdistan (eastern Turkey) in the 1990s and their descendants. Mardîn grew up with a corresponding awareness. She was the niece of Zehra Penaber, who died in the resistance against ISIS in Kobanê. In 2016, she joined the guerrillas. Shortly after, her siblings Mardîn and Zindan lost their lives in the resistance for self-determination in Cizre and Şirnak. Her guerrilla life was therefore marked from the beginning by her attachment to the martyrs. Through her training in the mountains, she became aware of the strength of women and came to grips with the ideology of women's liberation. She then worked within the structures of the Komalên Ciwan youth organisation and completed specialist military training. She had been fighting in Metîna since 2020.

Roza Hedar

Roza Hedar was born in the village of Biryas in the Lice district of Amed (Diyarbakır). Her childhood was shaped by stories about her relatives who died in the liberation struggle. She followed developments in all parts of Kurdistan with great interest and was particularly influenced by the struggle for Kobanê. In 2015, she joined the guerrillas. In the mountains, she got to know the contents of the PKK better and dealt with the women's liberation ideology presented by Abdullah Öcalan. The struggle for a grassroots democratic, gender-just and ecological society and the worldwide dissemination of this paradigm became essential goals for her. At the same time, she learned military skills and became a competent militant of the YJA Star (Free Women’s Troops). She fought against ISIS for several years and then went to Metîna as a unit commander.

Rojhat Dilbirîn

Rojhat Dilbirîn was born in the Silvan district of Amed. His family and social environment were patriotic and he experienced the oppression of the Kurdish people by the Turkish state at first hand. Because he did not go to school for long, he was little exposed to the state's policy of assimilation. He sympathised with the guerrillas early on and decided to become a freedom fighter in 2015. The decisive factor in his participation in the guerrilla struggle was his desire for revenge in the face of the massacres of the Turkish state and ISIS in Kurdistan. The natural life and camaraderie interaction in the mountains impressed him and he completed basic training, where he quickly developed. He stayed for a long time in the Avaşîn and Zap regions and gained military experience, which he passed on to those around him, thus ensuring collective development. After further military training, he went to Metîna and participated in the construction of tunnels and defensive positions. Since 2021, he fought with great courage against the Turkish invading forces.

Serhed Agirî

Serhed Agirî came from Kobanê and witnessed the legendary resistance against ISIS in 2014. The brave fighters who inflicted the first defeat on ISIS became his role models. In 2019, he joined the guerrillas with great enthusiasm. He quickly got used to his new living conditions in the mountains and engaged with the contents of the Kurdish liberation movement. After ideological and military training, he went to Metîna, where he worked tirelessly to set up positions and prepare the necessary infrastructure. When the Turkish army attacked Girê Hekarî on 25 May 2022, he was one of the first fighters to counterattack, despite his lack of war experience. He continued his resistance until the last moment of his life.