Of the seven guerrilla fighters who were ambushed by the KDP, which rules southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq), in Xelîfan northeast of Hewlêr (Erbil) in late August, five were killed. One HPG member was apparently captured injured, and another fighter survived and described the incident. The press center of the People's Defense Forces (HPG) statement published on Sunday includes the following:

"It has been confirmed that a guerrilla group consisting of seven people was attacked by KDP forces at approximately 2:30 a.m. on the night of August 28-29 while traveling from Qandil to Behdinan. The group was fired upon directly from four sides with heavy weapons as it crossed the Zap River without prior address or warning shots. Five of our companions were definitely killed in this attack. One of our members is believed to have been captured injured. Our comrade Haki, who was part of the guerrilla group, observed what was happening and was able to leave the area unharmed after a while. He was able to save himself alive and reached our forces. Through his account, many aspects of the KDP attack have been clarified.

We have said in a previous statement that we leave the incident to the sense of justice and conscience of the Kurdish society and the international public. The situation has now been clarified and our people should know the facts. The attack, which took place without warning, was clearly aimed at destroying the entire guerrilla group. It is clear that it was intended to provoke armed clashes among Kurds. The attack took place despite the fact that it is known that intra-Kurdish fighting is harming the entire Kurdish people right now."

In addition to the survivor Haki, the guerrillas attacked by the KDP are:

Nom de Guerre: Tolhildan Raman First-Last Name: Nesrin Temir Birthplace: Tirbespî Mother's-Father's Name: Ayşana – Muhammed Şerif

 

Nom de Guerre: Şoreş Mardin First-Last Name: Hakim Acar Birthplace: Mardin Mother's-Father's Name: Delal – Hüseyin

 

Nom de Guerre: Axîn Muzirî First-Last Name: Hacer Atabak Birthplace: Hakkari Mother's-Father's Name: Havset – Mustafa

 

Nom de Guerre: Şoreş Colemêrg First-Last Name: Süleyman Kaçar Birthplace: Hakkari Mother's-Father's Name: Gülü – Şaban

 

Nom de Guerre: Brûsk Munzur First-Last Name: Yücel Kandemir Birthplace: Erzurum Mother's-Father's Name: Muhteber – Enver

 

Nom de Guerre: Serdem Cudî First-Last Name: Yusuf İbrahim Birthplace: Dêrîk Mother's-Father's Name: Fatma – Mihemed

 

TOLHILDAN RAMAN

Tolhildan Raman was born in Qamişlo in 1982. She grew up in the fighting atmosphere of the Kurdistan Freedom Revolution and became involved in the youth movement. On February 15, 1999, the day Abdullah Öcalan was deported to Turkey, she made the decision to join the PKK. She took to the mountains and underwent ideological and military training as a guerrilla fighter. On this basis, she became part of the special unit Hêzên Taybet and fulfilled her duties as a sacrificial militant and commander for many years. According to HPG information, she proposed herself for an action of self-sacrifice quite a few times. After spending time in various regions of the Medya Defense Zones, she went to Botan in 2014 as a commander and eventually to Rojava to defend her birthplace against ISIS. From there, she returned to the mountains and participated in numerous guerrilla offensives at the command level.

 

ŞOREŞ MARDİN

Şoreş Mardin was born in 1980 in the village of Bahwar in Midyat, Mardin. Due to the Turkish state's policy of expelling Kurds from Kurdistan, his family had to migrate to Adana. There, Şoreş grew up in materially poor conditions and had to contribute to his family's livelihood from an early age. Later, he moved even further west in Turkey and became acquainted with the PKK there. He participated in the work in the cities for a while and joined the guerrillas in Dersim in 1997. He learned the guerrilla struggle in practice under the difficult circumstances of the time. Through the experience he gained, he developed into a capable commander. After five years of fighting in Dersim, he went to the Medya Defense Zones in 2002. There he took on duties in various regions. From 2006 to 2008, he held a position of responsibility in the Zagros. In 2009, he returned to Dersim, and in 2010 and 2011 he was in guerrilla warfare in the Black Sea region. During the guerrilla retreat in 2013, he again came to the Medya Defense Zones. When ISIS wanted to strangle the revolution of Rojava, he went to northern Syria and used his great experience to fight against the Islamists. In the process, he was seriously injured and lost an eye. Even as a war-wounded, he lost none of his determination. He received medical treatment for a while and then wanted to continue fighting in northern Kurdistan.

 

AXÎN MUNZUR

Axîn Mizurî was born in the village of Şapata in Şemdinli, Hakkari and grew up in a patriotic atmosphere. She joined the guerrillas and quickly educated herself. As a fighter of the YJA Star, she exposed herself to the ideology of women's liberation and was trained in the art of war. In order to professionalize her skills, she went to one of the military academies where training is given in various branches. After her own training, she passed on her knowledge to her companions. She became a capable commander and was on her way to Behdînan to put her knowledge of modern guerrilla warfare into practice.

 

ŞOREŞ COLOMÊRG

Şoreş Colemêrg was born in Çukurca, Hakkari. His family belonged to the Mamxurî tribe and he grew up with the original social traditions in a patriotic environment. For this reason, he was aware of the Turkish state policy of genocide and assimilation as a child. He became active in the youth movement and joined the guerrillas in 2012. In the mountains, he quickly adapted to guerrilla life and continued his education. In 2014, he completed professional military training. In the following seven years, he successfully fought in different areas.

 

BRÛSK MUNZUR

Brûsk Munzur was born in 1990 to a patriotic family in the village of Alikulek in Karayazı, Erzurum. He grew up in a natural environment with the unadulterated values of the village community and developed into a mature and conscious personality. Two of his older brothers joined the guerrillas: Alîşêr went to the mountains in 2010 and fell in Tutax in 2019. Mazlum was killed in Çukurca back in 2012. Brûsk was active in the revolutionary youth movement for a long time and also joined the guerrillas in 2014. He was one of the heroes who went to Shengal at the time of the ISIS attack to save the Yazidi people from genocide. There he took part in many battles in the front line and was seriously injured. After completing his mission, he went to the Şehîd Mehmet Hayri Durmuş Health Academy for medical training. The humble Apoist militant and brave commander became Dr. Brûsk, a guerrilla doctor who cared for his companions.

 

SERDEM CÛDÎ

Serdem Cûdî was born in Dêrik in Rojava and grew up in a patriotic family environment. At the time of the Rojava revolution, as a young person, he tried to fulfill his historical responsibility. However, his dream was guerrilla life and he took to the mountains. After his basic training, he was part of the guerrilla units that successfully defended Southern Kurdistan against the ISIS invasion in Maxmur and Kirkuk. He then went back to the mountains and became a member of the Hêzên Taybet.

 

HPG expressed their condolences to the families of martyrs, the people of Shengal, Maxmur, Kirkuk and Rojava, as well as the patriotic people of Kurdistan and said: "We appeal to our people to stand behind these sacrificial and brave heroes. We call on the youth of Kurdistan to take this struggle as an example, to join the guerrillas, to take up arms and to crown our struggle for a free life with Abdullah Öcalan in a free Kurdistan with victory."