On 28-29 August, 5 HPG guerrillas were killed and 2 were injured in an ambush set up by the Kurdistan Democratic Party's (KDP) armed special forces in Turkey's "cross-border" operation in the Xelîfan district of the Federal Kurdistan Region. Despite the fact that the KDP has been holding the bodies of HPG members for months, families attempting to enter the Federal Kurdistan Region via the Semalka Border Crossing in the Cizîre Canton of Northern and Eastern Syria were stopped by KDP forces. On the 5th of October, the Cizîre District Martyrs' Families Council and families of HPG members began a vigil in response to the blockade.

The Faysh Khabur and El-Waleed Border Crossings, on the other hand, were closed following the Revolutionary Youth and Young Women's Union's protest at the Semalka Border Crossing, which was attacked by the KDP on December 15. The tent protest against the KDP's actions is still going strong on its 86th day.

Girke Lege Martyr’s Families Council paid a visit to the vigil in Derik, which is carried out in a tent set up to support the ongoing action at Semelka border crossing.

Speaking during the solidarity visit, Newaf İbrahim, elder brother of Martyr Serdem Cûdî, stated that they will keep the struggle going until they get the bodies of martyrs.

‘We follow the struggle line of Leader Öcalan’

Pointing to the vigil at Semelka border crossing which has been ongoing for 88 days, İbrahim condemned the attitude of South Kurdistan’s ruling party Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which has not handed over the bodies of martyrs to their families, and said, “We are waging a struggle under the guidance of Leader Öcalan’s philosophy. Nobody can break our will. Closure of border crossings cannot break our willpower. We are determined to follow in the footsteps of the martyrs. Closure of the border crossings means disregarding humanitarian values. The KDP knows well that closure of the gates cannot break the people’s morale and willpower.”