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.

'If the crossings are closed, the KDP cannot survive for even ten days'

Evaluating the vigil protest, Xedîce Hecî Şerîf from the Semalka Border Crossing Action Preparatory Committee said: "Our goal with this action is to fulfil the wishes of our martyrs. The KDP slaughtered our children. Last year, our children were killed in the Southern Kurdistan Hospital. We demand the bodies of all our martyred children. While we often talk about brotherhood, our greatest adversary is the one we call brother. Nobody is harmed by us. We live on our land, yet the Turkish state and the KDP continue to commit atrocities against us. When the Revolutionary Youth staged a protest near to the tent, I was present and witnessed the occurrence. Our children did not attack the KDP, they said that 'We will make our statement and then return,' but they were attacked. Faysh Khabur and Al-Waleed crossings were shut down. It won’t matter if the crossings remain closed for three years; all we ask is that the bodies of our children be returned to us. The KDP will not survive for even ten days if the crossings are closed."

"We are a resisting nation, no attack or dirty policies can alter our will and demands," Xedice said, emphasizing that they do not need anyone, but the KDP does. She continued, "From the past to the present, the KDP has betrayed us. Our protest will continue with vigour and tenacity until the bodies of our children are returned. It's pretty cold outside right now. But not even the cold can break our resolve. In our demonstration, we remember all freedom fighters, which strengthens our resolve. We will not remove our tent till the KDP returns our martyrs. They claim that our martyrs are not in their hands every time they transmit a message, but they are misleading themselves. We already knew that the Turkish state is hostile to us, and the KDP, whom we call brothers, is in a worse condition right now."

'Nothing can shatter our will'

Speaking after, North and East Syria Chamber of Commerce Co-chair Leyla İbrahim said that "For more than three months, a vigil has been held to demand the bodies of our martyrs under the leadership of the Martyrs' Families Council, and this resistance continues with tremendous resolve. We're here to take our children's bodies, and we won't go until we succeed. We will be there, and we won’t give up our fight. For three months, the relatives of martyrs and the people of Rojava have been gathered here. The will of the people demonstrates the strength of their determination, and no power can shatter it. Rojava people have been protesting for ten years and have endured numerous challenges. The embargo is getting tighter. Both the regime and the KDP forces shuttered the border crossing. With this embargo, they hope to shatter the will of those who are resisting. We say once more that no one can break our will, that as Kurds, we will always rise up and never give up on our cause. The administration of the Southern Kurdistan Region itself should not feel as though they have control over the people. They should see themselves through the eyes of the Kurdish people. We firmly condemn the KDP's policies toward Kurds and Rojava Kurdistan."