Thousands staged a march in the town of Tilqebin in Şırnak’s Silopi district on Sunday in protest at the Turkish state’s use of chemical weapons in its invasion operation in the guerrilla-held Medya Defense Zones in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq), which has been ongoing since mid-April.

The ‘March for Humanity’ against the use of chemical weapons is organized by the Democratic Society Congress (DTK), Free Women's Movement (TJA), Democratic Regions Party (DBP), Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), Peace Mothers Assembly, Federation of Legal Solidarity Associations with the Families of Prisoners and Convicts (MED TUHAD-FED), the Association of Assistance, Solidarity, Unity and Culture for Families Losing Their Relatives in the Cradle of Civilizations (MEBYA-DER), Mesopotamia Cultural Center (MKM), Migration Platform and Mesopotamia Ecology Movement.

While the road leading to Khabour Border Crossing was closed by the police and the army, the crowd gathered at different locations before marching towards HDP Tilqebîn branch office.  

The people were attacked by the soldiers with pressure water and gas bombs after reaching the town. The march to Khabour Border Crossing began after the arrival of hundreds from several meeting points, chanting “PKK is the people and the people are here”, “Long live the guerrilla resistance”.

The people were stopped by the army once again after reaching the Silk Road on the way to the border crossing. Closing the road to traffic, they were attacked with pressure water and gas bombs again. Not dispersed after the crackdown, the protesters continued their march through the side streets after keeping the road closed to traffic for a while.

One of the rubber bullets fired by the police hit HDP deputy Nuran İmir. In the face of the violent crackdown, demonstrators erected barricades with trash cans on the streets, responding to the attack with stones.

In the meantime, soldiers did not only fire into the air for minutes in front of the HDP building but also attacked the locals attending a wedding ceremony in the town. The resistance against the violent crackdown continued for hours.

On the other hand, journalists covering the demonstration were also brutally attacked by soldiers and prevented from doing their job.

Turkish troops raided several flats in the wake of the demonstration and detained dozens of people including TMMOB (Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects) Mardin İKK Secretary Aydın Aslan, HDP Mersin provincial co-chair Hoşyar Sarıyıldız, Eğitim Sen Mardin branch co-chair Mustafa Bozan and BES Mardin branch representative Mehmet Emin Özel.