The Afrin Liberation Forces (HRE) carried out a series of actions against the invaders in Afrin to mark the 3rd anniversary of the occupation of Afrin by the Turkish army and gangs.

HRE said that 2 of their fighters were captured in the clashes with the invading Turkish army on March 17. One of the HRE fighters, Ruken Zerdeşt, detonated a grenade in order not to end up being a prisoner of the enemy and fell a martyr.

In a statement published on Friday, the HRE said the following:

"Our forces organized a series of actions to mark the anniversary of the invasion of Afrin.

On March 14, an action was carried out against Sultan Murat gangs in Ashrafiyah neighborhood of Afrin. A vehicle was destroyed here.

On March 16, an action was carried out near the front of the gangs in the Afrin region. While a gang member was killed as a result of the action and some others injured, we could not get reliable information about their numbers.

On March 16, our forces sabotaged the checkpoint of the gangs on the Jindires road in Afrin. 2 gang members were killed and 5 others were injured in the action. A vehicle belonging to the gangs was destroyed.

On March 17, violent clashes erupted between the occupying soldiers and our forces. Two of our friends were captured. Rûken Zerdeşt fell a martyr after detonating a grenade in her hand in order not to fall into the hands of the gangs. Our forces carried out a sabotage action against the gangs in Mahmudiye neighborhood of Afrin the same day. 2 gang members were injured as a result of the action.

On March 18, our forces carried out an action against a base belonging to the invading Turkish army in the Afrin region. 2 soldiers were killed and 2 others were injured in the action.”

Rûken Zerdeşt was born in Efrîn to a Yazidi family in Sherawa district. She belonged to the resistance group "Şehîd Avesta," the autonomous women's association of the HRE, and is its first martyr. The HRE expressed their condolences to her relatives, the Kurdish people and the peoples of northern and eastern Syria.

The identity information of the martyred HRE fighter is as follows:

Nom de Guerre: Rûken Zerdeşt

First-Last Name: Gulîstan Zuheyr Îbrahîm

Mother's name: Hesna

Father's name: Zuheyr

Place of birth: Afrin-Sherawa

Place and date of martyrdom: Afrin | 17 March 2021

The HRE said that “In the person of Rûken Zerdeşt, we respectfully commemorate all our martyrs and extend our condolences to all martyr families. In this context, we reiterate the promise of freedom we made to our people and martyrs.”