The People's Defense Forces (HPG) issued a statement to pay tribute to guerrilla commander Baz Azad Pîro, who died four years ago.

The HPG commander was born in Amed, and fought for 15 years in the Kurdish liberation movement. He was, among other things, a front commander in the defense of Kobanê against ISIS. The HPG described Baz Azad Pîro as a selfless, warm and sincere person who dedicated his entire existence to the fight for freedom. "We consider ourselves lucky to have met a commander like Baz Azad Pîro and to have fought shoulder to shoulder with him for the same goals and dreams," said the HPG Press Center in its statement.

The HPG expressed its condolences to the family and the people of Kurdistan. The following information was given about the identity of the martyr:

 Code name: Baz Azad Pîro

 First and last name: Abdurrahman Aksal

 Place of birth: Amed

 Names of mother and father: Fatma - Ömer

 Date and place of death: 25/09/2020 Medya Defense Areas

Baz Azad Pîro was born in a village in Diyarbakir-Dicle (Amed-Pîran) and grew up with the authentic Kurdish culture. In the early 1990s, he met the first guerrillas in the region and was deeply impressed by their attitude. He only went to school for a short time and resisted attempts to strip him of his identity and assimilate him according to Turkish state doctrine.

Through his work as a shepherd, he developed an understanding of life in line with nature, and repeatedly had the opportunity to talk to guerrillas, thus perceiving the world more consciously.

The policy with which the Turkish army, battered by guerrilla warfare, destroyed thousands of Kurdish villages, caused him great anger. He became active in the Kurdish youth movement and gained his first experiences on an ideological, organizational and activist level. Due to his successful commitment, he was targeted by the authorities and arrested. After a prison sentence, he continued his fighting. In 2005, he joined the guerrillas in Amed and went to the Medya Defense Areas for basic training.

Baz Azad Pîro once said that the guerrillas were the Kurdish people's hope for freedom and that he regretted not having joined sooner. Due to his life experience and maturity, he quickly assumed a leading role among the new fighters and developed into a natural commander. His first field of practice was Xakurke.

In 2007, he became part of the special unit Hêzên Taybet, which requires ideological depth and explicit willingness to make sacrifices, as well as heavy training. Until 2011, he worked in strategically important areas, and from 2012 he stayed in his home region of Amed to lay the foundations for the revolutionary people's war.

When the Islamic State invaded Kurdistan in 2014, he went to Kobanê and took part in the resistance. As a front commander, he proved his leadership skills here too. Although he suffered serious injuries to his stomach and leg in combat, he continued to fight until Kobanê was liberated. He then returned to the mountains and took part in further training in 2016, which allowed him to reflect on his previous practice and personality. He was given great responsibility, which he fulfilled until the end as a true revolutionary for his people.