PYD Co-Chair: 2023 will be the year of victory and liberation for the occupied lands

Speaking at the Newroz celebration in Shehba, PYD Co-Chair Asya Abdullah condemned the massacre committed by the Turkish state in Jindires and said that "We will liberate Afrin and we will light the next Newroz fire there.”

A Newroz celebration was held in the northern Syrian canton of Shehba on Tuesday under the motto “We will liberate Öcalan with the spirit of Newroz resistance, we will end the occupation”.

After a Newroz fire was lit during the celebration held in the village of Elûş in the Ehdas district of Shehba, Öcalan's Newroz evaluations were read out.

PYD Co-Chair Asya Abdullah appeared on stage for a speech after a message by the HRE (Afrin Liberation Forces) General Command was read out.

Abdullah said: “Just as Kawa the Blacksmith rebelled against Dehak, we promise to restore freedom and peace.”

Abdullah noted that the Newroz fire was lit in the 1970s under the leadership of Öcalan to protect the Kurdish people and the peoples of the Middle East from the policies of denial and destruction.

The PYD Co-Chair recalled that four people were martyred when mercenary groups attacked citizens who wanted to celebrate Newroz on March 20 in Afrin's Jindires district, which is occupied by the invading Turkish state and its mercenaries in 2018.

Condemning the attack, Abdulalh said: “We will liberate Afrin and light the next Newroz fire in the foothills of Mount Kurmanc. We will expand our struggle against the invaders and the enemy. No power or force can extinguish the Newroz fire. The massacre in Jindires is a continuation of the genocidal policies pursued against the Kurdish people in Afrin. This year will be the year of victory and liberation for the occupied lands.”