The commander of the Shengal Resistance Units (YBŞ) died on Saturday in a hospital near Mosul from serious injuries sustained the day before in a targeted drone attack by the Turkish state near Til Êzêr. The drone had bombed the checkpoint where Feqîr was operating. He was 32 years old.

Hundreds of people took part in the funeral at the martyrs’ cemetery in Shengal. The coffin containing the commander, which was brought from Mosul to Xanesor, was received by a large crowd and taken in a convoy to his parents' house in Sinunê. A religious ceremony was carried out there in accordance with the Yazidi tradition: after washing, Feqîr's body was wrapped in a white cloth, and a sheikh placed the so-called Barat balls, which are formed from the clay of Laliş, the highest shrine of the Yazidi community, into his eye sockets. Lamentations and prayers followed.

YBŞ fighters and Shengal Autonomous Women's Defense Forces (YJŞ) fighters held a military ceremony in honor of commander Feqîr. The coffin was then accompanied in a long procession to the Shengal Mountains. Many mourners, including Yazidi dignitaries and representatives of the Shengal Democratic Autonomous Council (MXDŞ), carried the flags of the YBŞ and YJŞ and repeatedly shouted the slogan “The martyrs are immortal”.

Qendîl Miho from the General Command of the YBŞ expressed his condolences to the relatives of the martyr and condemned his targeted killing as Turkish state terror. He praised Feqîr as a “great advocate” for the security of the Yazidi people. “We know all too well that everyone involved in protecting Shengal and repelling attacks on the region will sooner or later become a target of the enemy. Hevalê Mecdel was targeted for this reason. The Turkish state believes that it can break our will by murdering our friends. But it is wrong. It is our duty to avenge Mecdel Feqîr.”

Nayîf Shemo, co-chair of the MXDŞ, called on human rights organizations and international bodies to stop the attacks on Shengal orchestrated by the “fascist boss” Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. “The killing of Mecdel Feqîr is a continuation of the genocide against the Yazidi people. As we all know, he came from the family of Dayê Zero, known for their resistance against the 74th massacre. So he was one of the pioneers of our community. Targeting people like him is tantamount to intending to destroy the Yazidi people and their faith. It amounts to total genocide and the depopulation of Shengal. With these attacks they try to destroy our will. This is the dream of Erdoğan and his ally Barzani. Those who call themselves human rights defenders should stop Erdoğan as soon as possible.”

Shex Shemo, a member of the Council of Tribes in the Shengal region and a relative of the commander, condemned the killing of Mecdel Feqîr. This is an “expression of the strategic partnership between the terrorist group Islamic State and the government in Ankara”, said the dignitary. Şemo also remembered Çiya Feqîr, who was an uncle of Mecdel Feqîr and was killed last September, also in a Turkish air strike on Shengal.