Guerrilla commander Memed Cûdî fell on 25 October in Mardin (Mêrdîn), said the Press Center of the People’s Defense Forces (HPG) in a statement. Details surrounding the death of the commander of the Mardin regional command remain incomplete and are under investigation.

In the statement, the HPG described Memed Cûdî as an intelligent, aware, diligent, selfless, and mature comrade who embodied the spirit of rebellion and profound love for the homeland of the people of Mardin. The HPG extended their condolences to his family, the people of Mardin, and all of Kurdistan.

The HPG shared the following information about Memed Cûdî’s biography:

 Codename: Memed Cûdî

 Full Name: Ramazan Aktaş

 Birthplace: Mêrdîn

 Parents’ Names: Hamdiye – Alaattin

 Date and Place of Death: 25 October 2024 / Mardin

Memed Cûdî was born in Mardin-Dêrik and raised in a family with a long tradition of resistance in Kurdistan. His family had also resisted Turkish state oppression, and some of his relatives had joined the freedom struggle from the early days of the PKK movement. His relative Martyr Cemil (Kerim Baytar) was killed in 1986 in the village of Sipîvyan in Gabar, creating a lasting bond with the Kurdish liberation movement that shaped Memed’s upbringing.

As a youth, Memed became active in the youth movement with childhood friends. In 2005, he moved to Istanbul to study architecture, where he came to understand the movement more deeply. Abdullah Öcalan’s book How to Live? became a guiding text for him. He also studied the Kurdish people’s leader’s defense written in Imralı and, along with his childhood friend Martyr Kurtay (Memed Kiran), chose to work professionally within the youth movement. The life offered to him by capitalist modernity, restricted within state and traditional societal boundaries, held no appeal. Though his family was financially well-off, and he attended one of the best universities in the country, a lucrative career felt meaningless to him. His heart was set on the freedom of his people and his homeland.

In 2009, along with his friend Kurtay, who would also later fall as a martyr, Memed went to the mountains and joined the PKK.

In the mountains of Kurdistan, Memed Cûdî continued his work for the youth community (Komalên Ciwan) and, after completing his training, returned to Turkey, where he was active in both Turkish and Kurdish cities. In 2011, he was arrested. After his release in 2014, he joined the guerrilla forces in the Cûdî Mountains. He quickly learned the fundamentals of guerrilla warfare and, following the Turkish state’s unilateral end to peace talks on the Kurdish question in 2015, participated in militant actions.

In 2017, he was severely injured in both feet during combat and later received medical treatment in the Medya Defense Areas. He became involved with the YPS, working to raise awareness among the population about the importance of self-defense and training new fighters. Most recently, he served as a commander in Mardin, where he fell as a martyr during an enemy attack.