Guerrilla Wêlat Asê died in Antalya in 2018. The press center of the People's Defense Forces (HPG) said in a statement: “2018 was one of the most difficult years in the war against the Turkish occupying state. Turkish colonial fascism mobilized all means to suppress our people's demands for freedom and crush our movement. The Kurdistan freedom guerrillas responded by turning every place from North Kurdistan to the metropolises of Turkey into a field of resistance. In this self-sacrificing resistance, the Kurdistan freedom guerrillas inflicted heavy blows on the Turkish army.

Our comrade Welat Asê successfully fulfilled his task and responsibility in Antalya. He fell in courageous combat in a battle against the enemy and thus took his place in our history of freedom as one of the exemplary Apoist fighters.

We express our condolences to the entire patriotic people of Kurdistan, especially the esteemed family of our comrade Welat Asê, and reiterate our promise to friend Welat and through him to all the martyrs that we will lead the way for a free leadership and a free Kurdistan."

The identity information of the fallen guerrilla is as follows:

  Code name: Welat Asê
  First and last name: Mazlum Balıkçı
  Place of birth: Mûş
  Names of mother and father: Asiye – Çetin
  Date and place of death: September 28, 2018 / Antalya

The HPG said in its statement: "Welat Asê was born in Kop in the northern Kurdish province of Mûş and grew up in a patriotic family. People from his immediate surroundings joined the guerrillas, and so Welat Asê learned about the freedom struggle at an early age.

He experienced oppression in a boarding school focused on assimilation. He saw how Kurdish young people were separated from their culture of resistance and how their identity was taken away from them. This strengthened his decision to become active himself and join the fight for freedom."

The statement added: "With the guerrillas, he quickly settled into life in the mountains and made great efforts to free himself from the influence of the ruling system.

Welat Asê became more and more professional as a fighter. At the same time, not only his ideological knowledge grew, but also his determination to implement the apoist paradigms in his life. He became a candidate for command and went to the Amanos Mountains in North Kurdistan. There he was involved in many successful actions until he died on 28 September 2018 while resisting a Turkish attack in Antalya province."