Qendîl Kureyşan, one of the HPG (People's Defense Forces) guerrillas taking part in the resistance against the Turkish state's attacks on the guerrilla-held Medya Defence Zones in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq), spoke to ANF.

Kureyşan emphasised that the Turkish occupying state has been propagandising for years to destroy the guerrillas with drones, but these drones are being taken out of the sky "one by one" by the guerrillas' air defence system. Regarding the use of unconventional bombs and chemical weapons by the Turkish army, he said: "This actually only shows how helpless the Turkish occupying state is against the guerrillas."

"We have reached an important level in our struggle"

Kureyşan pointed out that the Turkish state is trying to suppress the Kurds' demands for their rights through war and continued: "Everyone can see how the guerrillas are resisting and how they are letting these dirty alliances against them fail. They used to say that the Kurds could not come together and fight. Today the Kurds are fighting against the second-strongest army in NATO. As the guerrillas of Kurdistan, we are fighting against the forces that say 'we have the best technique and technology' and we are defeating them. We have reached an important stage in our struggle. We have great war experience. We can now fight against all kinds of advanced technology. This is not something ordinary, but something very significant for the Kurdish people."

"Determination, courage and knowledge"

The HPG guerrilla emphasised that achieving this goal was not easy: "Something like this requires great conviction and determination. At the same time, a certain level of technical knowledge, expertise and professionalism is required to fight against modern technology. The guerrillas today have such power. The guerrilla is not only strong-willed and courageous, but also masters technology and knows nature. Creative tactics are implemented day and night, in all seasons and under the most difficult conditions. The enemy cannot occupy Kurdistan so easily.”

"Guerrillas use special techniques"

Commenting on the guerrillas' more recent ability to also take action against attacks from the air, Kureyşan said: "This also shows that new tactics and methods are being used. The Turkish occupation state cannot break our will. Even if the enemy co-operates with the treacherous Kurds or is supported by NATO, it will not be able to defeat us. The state propagates that the guerrillas have been destroyed, but this is not the case. We see that the guerrillas are shooting the reconnaissance planes of the Turkish occupation state out of the skies of Kurdistan one after the other. This also shows what level the guerrillas have reached. The Turkish occupying state can no longer hide its failure."