The People's Defense Forces (HPG) published the identities of three martyrs. Ciwan Welat, Andok Adil and Botan Raperin died in a revolutionary operation in the Girê Amêdîyê resistance area in South Kurdistan earlier this week. According to HPG, 49 soldiers from the Turkish occupation forces were killed in the operation in the western Zap region on 20 November. The HPG press center had already announced that guerrillas Ciwan and Andok died in the action. According to Saturday's statement, guerrilla Botan was seriously wounded in the fighting and could not be rescued.

“Our comrades Ciwan, Andok and Botan were valuable apoist militants and brave fighters. With the revolutionary operation they successfully carried out, they dealt one of the most severe blows to the Turkish occupying army and took a place in the history of freedom of our people. They made sacrifice their way of life and dedicated every moment of their fight to victory. With the last revolutionary operation, they showed friend and foe the strength of the guerrillas and ended their struggle on a high note. Ciwan, Andok and Botan pushed us to fight even harder,” the HPG wrote in their obituary. The HPG expressed its condolences to the relatives of the fallen and the people of Kurdistan.

The HPG gave the following information about the biography of the martyrs:

 Codename: Ciwan Welat

 First and last name: Fatih Bulut

 Place of birth: Mardin

 Names of mother and father: Medine – Ali

 Date and place of death: 20 November 2023 / Zap

 

 Codename: Andok Adil

 First and last name: Ramazan Bilal

 Place of birth: Afrin

 Names of mother and father: Esmahan – Fevzi

 Date and place of death: 20 November 2023 / Zap

 

 Codename: Botan Raperin

 First and last name: Sait Songülalp

 Place of birth: Istanbul

 Mother and Father Names: Halise – Emrullah

 Date and place of death: 20 November 2023 / Zap

Ciwan Welat

Ciwan Welat was born in Kızıltepe, Mardin in North Kurdistan and grew up in an environment close to the Kurdish freedom movement. Many people from his family circle joined the fight for freedom, including his sister, an uncle and a cousin. Ciwan went to school for eleven years and then earned his living as a laborer.

When ISIS attacked Western Kurdistan in 2014, he took part in the defense of the Rojava revolution and fought against the Islamists. With his youthful energy and love for his country and people, he took part in countless liberation offensives with great courage. He was injured twice in battle but quickly returned to his post after recovering. With his tactical intelligence and his interest in the art of war, he gradually acquired the skills necessary for the command level. He was very good in sabotage tactics and caused heavy losses for the Islamists with his actions.

On the Girê Amêdîyê he took part in dozens of successful actions against the enemy with commander Delil Zagros, who later died. He took part in the revolutionary operation on Girê Amêdî on 20 November as commander of an attack group. He penetrated the Turkish positions and engaged in hand-to-hand combat against the enemy. After killing dozens of occupiers, he fell as a martyr in battle.

Andok Adil

Andok Adil was born in Afrin in Rojava and grew up under the influence of the Kurdish freedom movement. He was already aware of the PKK as a child. During his school years, he secretly read a book about the prison resistance in Amed that was banned by the Syrian regime and which had a great impact on him.

As an adolescent he became active in the revolutionary youth movement. In the wake of the Rojava revolution, he increased his involvement. With his youthful energy and enthusiasm for the revolution, he quickly acquired military skills, fighting first in Afrin and later in the defense of Aleppo. In the long-lasting fighting, Andok and his comrades managed to fend off attacks by tens of thousands of Islamists supported by Turkey. The battle in Aleppo was the first major success in urban warfare. Andok Adil lost many of his comrades in this war and was himself wounded three times, once very seriously. However, he never wanted to leave the front. He was known among the population and his comrades for his courage, generosity and military skill.

He fought shoulder to shoulder against the Turkish occupation with the commanders Delil Zagros and Güven Doza, who later fell as martyrs. Andok made no distinction between small and large tasks and devoted himself to each task with great enthusiasm. He made a significant contribution to the success of the revolutionary operation on 20 November.

Botan Raperin

Botan Raperîn was born and raised in Istanbul. His family comes from Siirt and had to leave Kurdistan for economic reasons as a result of the war policy. Botan grew up far from Kurdish reality and only got to know the PKK as a high school student. He became active in the youth movement where he had his first ideological and organizational experiences.

With his lively personality and determined attitude, he managed to establish contacts with young Kurds who, like him, lived in a major Turkish city. After the ISIS attacks on Kurdistan in 2014, he wanted to take more responsibility for the defense of his people and joined the guerrillas in Amed in 2015. He learned about Abdullah Öcalan's philosophy of freedom in all facets of daily life. Although he was still new to the guerrillas, he was able to benefit from decades of experience. His wish was the fight against the Islamists who committed massacres of the population in Rojava and Shengal. In the same year he went from Amed to Rojava and took part in liberation offensives against ISIS. He learned how to use various weapons and quickly developed into an accomplished fighter.

He was constantly educating himself and preparing to respond to the Turkish state's massacres of his people and to avenge his fallen comrades. When the Turkish army's attacks on the Metîna, Zap and Avaşîn regions increased, he came to the Girê Amêdîyê area and took part in the tunnel war. He took part in numerous actions against the invading troops and stood out for his courage, flexibility and tactical wealth. During the operation on 20 November, he suffered a serious injury, to which he succumbed despite the intensive efforts of his comrades.