Egîd Kobanê fought in the ranks of the People's Defence Units (YPG) in Rojava. He was at the forefront of the liberation of the area around Serêkaniyê (Ras al-Ain). In the process, he lost an eye and fell into the hands of jihadists.

After the Rojava revolution, Turkey sent large groups of the Al-Qaeda offshoot Jabhat al-Nusra together with Kurdish collaborators across the border in the second half of 2012, occupying most of Serêkaniyê and establishing a regime of terror. As court records from the time show, the "Islamic State" (ISIS) was also involved in the occupation. Women in particular were terrorised with corporal punishment and severe assaults, Yazidi villages were wiped out, churches were destroyed and many other serious crimes were committed. Serêkaniyê was to become a bridgehead for Turkey in the destruction of the Rojava revolution that had just begun. Turkey brought permanent logistical and personnel support for the occupiers through the then open border crossing. Nevertheless, small groups of trapped YPG units, together with the people, began liberating the city from the eastern neighbourhoods despite the numerical and technical superiority of the occupiers. Due to an incursion by al-Nusra near Alouk in the east, the defence forces were initially largely cut off from supplies from this side as well.

Expulsion of the occupiers

This was preceded on 19 December 2012 by an attack on the Kurdish population and defence forces by the pro-Turkish mercenary coalition led by the Al-Qaeda offshoot al-Nusra. Abid Xelîl, the chair of the Serêkaniyê People's Council, was assassinated by the occupiers. Afterwards, fierce fighting broke out around Serêkaniyê. Negotiations were to follow. During the "talks", activist Selah Eyo Şêxo and Asayîş (Public Security) member Xalid Omar Hemo were captured and murdered by mercenaries. This was the last straw. Now there was an extended struggle in Serêkaniyê to liberate the city from al-Nusra and its allies, which resulted in the expulsion of the occupiers.

Egîd Kobanê remembers

But large parts of the surrounding area were still under ISIS control. Egîd Kobanê was one of those who fought in the front line after the liberation of Serêkaniyê to open a corridor to Kobanê: "At the beginning of 2014, the war had already reached a high level. The mercenaries and the Turkish state had started to turn against Kobanê. We wanted to open a corridor from Sêrekaniyê to Kobanê. If that didn't work, we at least wanted to stay on the ground and carry out actions. At that time, villages like Mabrûka were in the hands of the mercenaries. We were fighting to liberate Rawiya, Dehman and Mabrûka.

On the front line

In the initial phase of the offensive, our friends wanted us to stay in the rear because we had no combat experience. We took up defensive positions in the liberated villages. One friend was killed in the fighting, and then he was taken behind the front. I took his keffiyeh off, to see that it was Heval (Comrade) Behrî. Heval Behrî had met the YPG through me and decided to join. When I saw that he had fallen, I insisted that I go to the front. Because the greatest revenge for him would be the liberation of the occupied territories, and I wanted to take part in the offensives. I achieved my goal and joined a group to liberate Dehman village. The fighting was so fierce that we couldn't lift our heads from the bullets. There was only a five-meter gap between the mercenaries and us. We had to liberate the village from the mercenaries in groups and in a coordinated way. I was in the attack group, because by liberating the village I would be able to avenge Heval Behrî.

The fronts intermingle

First, I reached a safe position with fallen and injured friends. When I returned, news reached us that the mercenaries were going to attack with a vehicle bomb. Before we could get into position, the car sped towards us and exploded. Suddenly we could no longer see our hand in front of our eyes. We could not open our eyes because of the dust and were stunned by the ferocity of the explosion. The fighting had become so fierce that we could no longer distinguish between friend and foe. There were killed and wounded on our side. Heval Şahoz, two friends and I took up positions again. Three men in camouflage clothes passed us like ghosts and moved towards the mercenaries. When we heard 'Heval! Don't go that way! This is ISIS territory ...', a small skirmish ensued. We killed two of them and the other escaped.

I lay down by the side of Martyr Şahoz

The village of Dehman had been in the hands of ISIS for a long time. Therefore, they had reinforced their positions, tunnels and underground fortifications. After the car exploded, the mercenaries took up attack positions and came out of houses, underground tunnels and defensive positions. When a rocket exploded, Heval Şahoz collapsed next to me from the blast wave. He fell. I thought only Şahoz had fallen, but later I realised that other friends had also fallen. There were a lot of mercenaries and we had hardly any ammunition left. When I stood up, I felt a slight pain, I couldn't see my surroundings well. I went closer to Şahoz and tried to clarify whether it was him or not. It was Şahoz. When I tried to get up, I fell to the ground, I couldn't keep my balance, I couldn't see anything in front of me. I called out to my friends, but there was nothing. I called out again, but there was no answer. I realised that the other friends had also fallen. So, I lay down next to Şahoz, took the kalashnikov and waited motionless. I ran my hand over my face. One eye was hanging out and the other eye was clouded by the gunpowder vapour.

I waited silently and full of hope

I was not able to move. If I had moved, I would have run in the direction of the mercenaries. The fighting continued for a long time. I stayed in that place for a long time. But if I did not leave, there was a danger that I would be captured. But if I went, since I could not see anything, I might get lost and be captured. I decided to go, come what may. 'You must try,' I said to myself and got up. After walking for a while, I fainted. When I woke up, I was in the middle of the fighting. When the fighting stopped, I found that I was on the side closer to the mercenaries, and the wounded mercenaries were lying scattered around me. My hair and beard had grown very long. The number of wounded was very high; they took them all away without examining them closely. They thought I was a gang member because of my hair and beard and took me away. They did not know who I was. I waited in silence. I did not lose hope because I knew that the friends would come. My only fear was to move away from the village. Suddenly, bullets began to whistle through the air, and I sighed deeply as I heard the trilling of the female fighters. The mercenaries had suffered a heavy blow. When Heval Newal called out, 'Heval Egîd!', I realised she was coming towards me. She asked me, 'Are you alive?' I could not speak, only squeezed her hand."