The Press Center of the People's Defense Forces (HPG) said that guerrilla Erdal Tolhildan was martyred in a Turkish attack in the Kato Marînos area in September 2020. The HPG expressed its condolences to the people from Tolhildan's place of origin, Başkale (Elbak), his relatives and the entire Kurdish people.

 Nom de Guerre: Erdal Tolhildan

 First and last name: Murat Şakrak

 Place of birth: Van

 Names of mother and father: Bedriye – Yakup

 Date & place of death: 26 September 2020 / Kato Marînos

Erdal Tolhildan came from Başkale in the province of Van. He was born into a patriotic family. The deep connection between his family and his tribe and the Kurdish culture influenced Erdal Tolhildan from his early childhood. He attended Turkish schools, but was quickly rejected by the assimilation system and realized that this education was of no use to him. So he left school. Since childhood, Erdal Tolhildan worked to help his family survive and stand on his own two feet. He developed great initiative and strong self-confidence early on. Already in his youth, he had to move to the metropolises of Turkey to earn money there. Even if the habits of life in the capitalist system influenced him, he was still able to protect himself through his cultural heritage. He began to analyze the life that was imposed on people in the metropolises and came to the conclusion that this system only served to enslave people and exploit their labor.

From the metropolises to the mountains

As a young Kurd, he followed the war in Kurdistan closely and understood what life in the metropolises meant. He decided that the only way to counteract this was to go to the mountains. So he joined the guerrillas in 2011.

He received his basic training in Xakurke, in South Kurdistan. He quickly adapted to life in the mountains. His joining the guerrillas was primarily due to an emotional decision; then he worked on transforming the feeling into consciousness. He dealt with the history of Kurdistan and the lessons from it. With an eye on history, he also became more familiar with the occupiers of Kurdistan and their countless massacres, and his anger increased. He was determined to retaliate for the massacres - Tolhildan, his nom de guerre, means revenge or retaliation. Erdal Tolhildan was particularly concerned with apoist philosophy.

Defense of Kobanê

Until 2014, he was active as a guerrilla fighter in the Xakurke region. When ISIS attacked Kobanê, it rushed there to defend the city. There he fought on the front line against ISIS and played an important role in repelling the Turkish-backed jihadist murder gangs. After the liberation, he took part in many offensives to destroy ISIS and thus achieved military experience. At the same time, he continued to educate himself, applying the knowledge he had acquired in practice and passing it on to his comrades.

The HPG press center wrote: "With this quality he managed to become an exemplary militant. Our Comrade Erdal's efforts in the most critical phases of the war ensured important developments. Although he was wounded twice, once seriously, his determination and will to fight never wavered."

The way to Botan

After the defeat of ISIS, he returned to the mountains of Kurdistan. The fight against Turkish colonialism was now his focus. Because of the massacres, the policy of extermination and denial, the attacks, the isolation of Abdullah Öcalan and the massive repression against any opposition in North Kurdistan, he decided to go there to fight the Turkish state directly. He received further ideological and practical training in guerrilla tactics at the Haki Karer Academy. He particularly dealt with the new guerrilla tactics and specialized in the tactics of mobile guerrilla units.

After his training, he was deployed to Avaşîn in South Kurdistan before going to North Kurdistan. When he came to Botan, his dream came true and he threw himself into practice there with great enthusiasm and took part in many activities.

'A defender of the Apoist life'

The HPG press center wrote about his death: "Our comrade Erdal, who, with his combative personality, his humble attitude to life and the clarity of his values as a militant, managed to become a defender of the Apoist life, died on 26 September killed in an enemy attack in the area of Kato Marînos. As his comrades, we promise that we will keep Heval Erdal’s memory alive in our struggle and that his dreams will live on in a free Kurdistan."