North and East Syrian youth joined the YPJ and SDF to fight against the Turkish state's invasion attacks. Arab youth who joined the resistance against talked to ANF about their participation.

Halim Manbij said that he was very impressed by the SDF and YPJ fighters resisting in Til Ebyad and Serêkaniyê, and decided to join the SDF ranks after the attacks of 9 October 2019. He added: "We, as the children of this region, have decided to join the ranks of the SDF. The Turkish state has an invasion plan based on the Ottoman dream. They want to invade the Middle East. For this reason, they started by attacking North and East Syria. The Turkish state has been pursuing a policy of chaos, it tries to divide the peoples of the region. The contrary of the democratic nation project presented president Öcalan which brings all peoples together.”

Halim Manbij continued: “We see how Kurdish, Arab, Syriac, Assyrian and Armenian peoples live together. But the Turkish state wants these peoples to be hostile to each other. When they attacked Til Ebyad and Serêkaniyê, they thought that the Arab people would join them. But the Arab people did not stand with the Turkish state. After seeing the resistance of our people, we decided to join the resistance ranks. The honor resistance was what most affected me."

Mecid, a fighter from Raqq, joined the SDF against the attacks of the Turkish state like Halim. Saying that the Turkish state aims to exterminate the peoples of the region, Mecid said: "These ancient lands have witnessed the brotherhood of the peoples for centuries. We see that the Turkish state is seeking to invade these lands. The Turkish state has recently been killing or abducting the Tribal leaders, especially in Deir ez-Zor. Our attitude towards such actions is always clear. Like our friends Amara Jiyanda and Argêş Hesekê, who fell heroically martyrs in the resistance against the occupation attacks, we took our place in this resistance. We will follow the footsteps of our martyrs and we will not let the invaders turn us against each other. I call on all young people living in the region: our homeland needs us today, so join the SDF ranks and protect your homeland."

"Women will not accept slavery"

YPJ fighter Rita Manbij drew attention to the attacks on women. Rita Manbij, who said that women should fight in every field, added: "During the attacks on Girê Spî and Serêkaniyê, I joined the ranks of the YPJ to save my country from the invaders. They killed women and children in front of our eyes. As a woman, I joined the resistance ranks because I could not tolerate this persecution.

Our aim is to liberate our occupied lands one by one and save the women who are in the hands of the mercenaries. We now know how to defend ourselves as women. We will organize and fight against all kinds of attacks. We owe it to president Öcalan, who helped liberate women. That's why we will never accept the slavery imposed on women.”