Guerrillas Asrîn Bawer, Xwînda Çiya and Rustem Serhed were killed in August in attacks by the Turkish army on the Xakurke region of South Kurdistan. The Press Center of the People's Defense Forces (HPG) said that "Asrîn and Xwînda fell as militants of the ‘Jin Jiyan Azadî’ philosophy, while Bawer was active in the Kurdish freedom movement in Europe for years before joining the guerrillas."

The HPG added: "We express our condolences to the precious families of Asrîn, Xwînda and Rustem as well as to the Kurdish people and reaffirm our promise to keep the memory of our martyrs alive in the free Kurdistan they long for."

The following information was provided regarding the identities of the fallen.

 Code name: Asrîn Bawer

 First and last name: Sevda Topçu

 Place of birth: Riha

 Names of mother and father: Ayhan – Şehmus

 Date and place of death: August 4, 2024 / Xakurkê

Code name: Xwînda Çiya

First and last name: Necla Ahmed Silêman

Place of birth: Dêrika Hemko

Names of mother and father: Zeynep – Ahmed

Date and place of death: August 4, 2024 / Xakurkê

 Code name: Rustem Serhed

 First and last name: Şahin Pekür

 Place of birth: Îdir

 Names of mother and father: Gulçin – Salih

 Date and place of death: August 24, 2024 / Xakurkê

Asrîn Bawer

Asrîn Bawer was born in Urfa (Riha-Wêranşar) and grew up in an environment close to the PKK. Her family later moved to Mersin, but held on to their Kurdish identity. In her youth, Asrîn questioned the role of women in society and studied Abdullah Öcalan's ideas about a free life.

In 2014, she went to the mountains and joined the freedom struggle. Because she made this decision primarily for emotional reasons, adapting to guerrilla life was not always easy for her at first.

 The time was marked by the brutal ISIS campaign in Rojava and against the Yazidis in Shengal, and Asrîn's primary goal was to become an ideologically and militarily equipped fighter of the Free Women’s Units (YJA Star).

After her basic training in Xakurke, she stayed in the region and took part in practical work. In addition to her participation in guerrilla actions against the Turkish army, she showed great commitment in the construction of underground defense facilities and completed specialized military training. When the Turkish state attacked the Medya Defense Areas with a new concept in 2021, she took part in revolutionary guerrilla operations and contributed significantly to their success. She fought in a partially mobile unit and defended Xakurke with great courage and willingness to make sacrifices.

"Hevala Asrîn lived honestly and fought for the principles she believed in. On 4 August, she joined the caravan of the martyrs together with our comrade Xwînda and went down in the history of our people's struggle for freedom," said the HPG.

Xwînda Çiya

Xwînda Çiya was born in Dêrik in Rojava. Her family was active in the Kurdish movement and Xwînda was therefore enthusiastic about the guerrillas as a child.

During the 2012 revolution in Rojava, she became more interested in Abdullah Öcalan's ideas about the free coexistence of peoples and observed with her own eyes how the role of women was changing. In view of the resistance against the terrorist militia ISIS, which was waged at great sacrifice, she increasingly felt a responsibility to contribute to the defense of the revolution.

She decided to take up armed struggle and joined the guerrillas in the mountains in 2016. After basic training for new fighters, she was active in various places in the Medya Defense Areas. She was guided by the women's liberation ideology and took part in specialized military training to prepare for combat missions. She then fought as a self-sacrificing militant of the YJA Star in Xakurke and put her knowledge and skills into practice.

The HPG described Xwînda as "an intelligent and deeply sincere woman who fought for her beliefs until the last moment of her life."

Rustem Serhed

Rustem Serhed was born in Reşqelas in North Kurdistan and grew up in an environment shaped by the freedom movement. He went to school for nine years and then worked in construction. At the same time, he became active in the Kurdish youth movement and got to know the PKK better.

The revolution in Rojava motivated him, and he devoted himself to political work with great care and prudence.

When the pressure increased after the battle for Kobanê in 2014, he left Turkey and went to Europe to continue his work there. He took on tasks in various areas for three years and finally turned his back on the capitalist system in 2019.

In the mountains of Kurdistan, he joined the guerrillas, fulfilling a long-held wish. It was not difficult for him to get used to the collective guerrilla life, and he benefited from the knowledge and life experience of his comrades. After an intensive training phase, he went to Xakurke as an ideologically and militarily experienced fighter, where he took part in the preparations for war and contributed to many actions.

On 24 August, he was killed in an enemy attack. The HPG said he was "a sincerely committed comrade and fighter who rejected a life in the system of capitalist modernity and made no compromises on his convictions."