Xemgin Cudi comes from Dirbesiyê, is father of two children and a fighter in the People's Defense Units (YPG). During the attack of the Turkish army and its jihadist proxies on Serêkaniyê (Ras al-Ain) he lost many of his companions, he himself was injured. He told ANF about his experiences:

Five brothers and sisters in resistance

I joined the YPG in 2011. The reason was my friends who lost their lives in this fight and the philosophy of Rebêr Apo [Leader Abdullah Öcalan]. But my family also played a role. My big brother Mazlum fought and died in Serêkaniyê. My sister fought in Ceza and was seriously injured.

We are five brothers. After my elder brother fell, we are now four brothers and one sister in the defense units. When we fought in Serêkaniyê, our whole family was there to support the resistance. Such a family has a great effect on a person who resists. Anyone would have acted like this in my place, nobody would have bent the knee to the enemy. There are families, four children of whom died in this fight. As families of martyrs and as fighters, we will never lose. We will always base on resistance.

Siblings become companions

We brothers and sisters have joined the struggle together to defend our country. In this struggle, siblings become companions. Companionship stands above all. Nevertheless, it made me very proud that my siblings were there in the battle alongside me. To fight shoulder to shoulder on the same front is something very special. I have been involved in many offensives since 2011, in others I was responsible for the defense behind the front.

After the military victory over the ISIS the people finally lived in peace and security. This calm atmosphere was unacceptable for the Turkish state. It gathered together the ISIS remnants and other jihadist groups and had them fight us again under a new name. He supported them with weapons and logistics. He wanted to do the same thing under a different name. Even the weapons they use show that the ISIS is attacking under a different name.

Better die than go away

As the YPG, the protection of the population is our top priority. A friend named Dilyar said in Serêkaniyê that people have come to our area and it is not clear whether they are civilians or military. In order not to harm the population, he sacrificed himself and fell as he approached this group. While he was lying there injured for six hours, we were bombed by planes. Of the four friends who tried to save him, some fell and others were injured.

The next morning the attacks on Til Xelef, Mebruka and Neshtel areas began. The city centre was attacked with jets, tanks and artilleries. Without the air force and especially the air reconnaissance, the enemy could not have taken a meter of ground militarily. When the attacks began in Til Xelef area, sleeper cells also appeared and killed some of our friends. The enemy had not yet been able to enter the city centre and we were trying to get the civilians out. We were fighters after all, maybe we would fall or get injured, but for the civilians it was difficult to defend themselves.

For nine days we were determined not to give up the city, although we became fewer. Everyone would rather die than leave. Prohibited weapons were used against us, mainly white phosphorus, but also other chemical warfare agents. We saw with our own eyes how the branches of trees melted. With 180 people, we may have been a small group, but we resisted very comradely and with great sacrifice.

Our songs echoed through the streets

The hospital where the sick and wounded had been brought was bombed from the air. They wanted to take our wounded in armoured cars, but we gave them no one, neither wounded nor dead. A friend named Hekim had fallen and they wanted to get his body and attacked us, but we did not let them do it. Our only goal was to resist and not to give up the city. Even if we were to fall, we would never leave the city. The enemy knew that. They knew perfectly well that they could not take the city without the air force.

Morally, we were doing well. Our slogans and songs echoed through the streets, as we danced halay. The enemy was after taking Serêkaniyê. They assumed that Amûdê, Dirbesiyê, Qamishlo and Dêrik would also fall with the fall of Serêkaniyê. They never thought that the children of these lands would return. They came to plunder and rob. As people from Rojava we confronted them.

We will get back our land

I was injured on the 24th day in the vicinity of Ummil Kef and Qasimiya. We had launched a massive attack and the enemy had suffered heavy losses. When it was clear that they would lose this way, the air raids started. Our will was stronger than their fighter jets. We did not run away. Akif, Yilmaz and Derdo fought and died there heroically, selflessly and with great commitment to companionship. They took no step back and opened their arms to death.

We know what we are fighting for. When I feel better, I will take my place again next to my friends at the front. I don't want anyone to think that YPG fighters retreat when they get injured. We give our word to the families of the martyrs in Serêkaniyê that we will never give up and sooner or later we will take back the city. Only death can stop us, I'm sure. We will get Serêkaniyê back and then Afrin. After this much sacrifice, we will never abandon our land to the enemy.