The press office of the People's Defense Forces (HPG) has disclosed the names of two guerrillas who fell as martyrs on 26 October 2020 in Iskenderun, in the province of Hatay. The fallen are Harun Fırat and Zinar Tatvan. The HPG describe both as "leading figures of the modern guerrilla".

      Code name: Harun Fırat

      Name and surname: Doğan Demir

      Place of birth: Van

      Mother and father’s name: Aklime - Arslan

      Date and place of martyrdom: 26 October 2020 / Iskenderun

      Code name: Zinar Tatvan

      Name and surname: Idris Ince

      Place of Birth: Bitlis

      Mother and father’s name: Gülten –Rıski

      Date and place of martyrdom: 26 October 2020 / Iskenderun

The statement published on Monday regarding the circumstances of the martyrdom of the two guerrillas, said that their unit had been in the Amanos Mountains since October. The HPG said: “The creative methods of our modern guerrillas have obviously shocked the enemy. Our units use their own bases and creativity to plan and carry out their actions."

The HPG added that "the Turkish state tries to prevent reality from emerging by spreading false reports. The reality is that "our professional guerrilla unit has defeated all kinds of air and land measures of the enemy and reached its goal by acting from the main base areas."

Two actions took place in Hatay Province on 26 October: “After our friends Harun and Zinar took action, they carefully and thoroughly reassessed their plan of attack and adjusted their conditions accordingly. They decided on their own initiative to carry out a self-sacrifice action. They got from the rural area of ​​the Amanos region to a housing estate and initially confiscated a vehicle. Attempts to stop them were unsuccessful: Harun and Zinar fought over a checkpoint and inflicted a heavy blow to the enemy. Once again, the Turkish occupying army hid its losses from the public and spoke only of an injured sergeant. Our two friends continued their journey after their first target, but changed cars after the vehicle was damaged."

The HPG unit chose the Iskenderun district for its Fedai action (self-sacrifice), said the statement adding: “Once there, clashes broke out with police officers and paramilitary special forces. As a two-man guerrilla unit, Harun and Zinar fought the enemy for several hours. After a while our friend Harun blew himself up amidst the enemies, Heval Zinar fell after his last shot. Here, too, the state said that only the Deputy Police Director of Iskenderun had been injured. These statements are not true. A large number of police officers were killed during the clashes.”

The HPG statement reminded that Harun Fırat was born in Özalp near Van, the son of a patriotic family. The combative culture of the Serhad region shaped him early in life. He joined the guerrilla in 2012 when the liberation struggle had taken the form of the revolutionary people's war.

Zinar Tatvan was born in Bitlis, but his patriotic family was forced to leave its homeland and move to the Turkish metropolises when he was a child. As a result, he became aware of the effects of colonialism at an early stage, and all the more resolutely did he cling to his Kurdish identity. Before joining the guerrilla, he had been active in youth work.