YPJ General Command organized a celebration in the Giweran neighborhood of Heseke after the victory against ISIS declared on March 23.

YPJ fighters, the Northern and Eastern Syrian Autonomous Administration, TEV-DEM and Kongreya Star representatives as well as thousands of people attended the celebration.

The General Command issued a statement on the victory against ISIS gangs as YPJ fighters performed the military ceremony.

YPJ Commander General Newroz Ehmed read the same text in Kurdish and YPJ Diplomacy Member Ayten Shex Isa in Arabic. The participants celebrated the defeat of ISIS in Northern and Eastern Syria after 5 years of fighting.

The statement said: “Our struggle against ISIS started in 2014 in Jazaa, and spread throughout the land step by step. On March 23, 2019, the flag of victory was planted in Baghouz.”

The General Command stated that YPJ had taken on the duty of leadership in the name of humanity as a women’s force, despite still being at the founding and organizing stage at the time.

"IT WAS A STRUGGLE TO DEFEND HUMANITY"

YPJ said: “In 2014, the most vile organization in the world carried out such attacks against the region. In Kobane, with the sacrifice of Arin, Revan and hundreds of our female comrades, the resistance kicked off the beginning of the end for ISIS. This wasn’t just a fight to defend the region. It was a task to defend humanity. It was legitimate self defense and women’s defense, within the framework of the Democratic Nation principles.”

YPJ General Command stressed that the YPJ was the fundamental force in the defeat of ISIS, through the unity of Kurdish, Arab, Turkmen, Syriac, Circassian, Assyrian, Chechen and Armenian women: “This unity also posed an example for the women of the world. Hundreds of female revolutionaries from many countries came to Rojava to participate in the Women’s Revolution. Helin from Britain, Ivana from Germany, Legerin from Argentina. Deniz from Turkey and Destan from Turkmenistan made the Rojava revolution and the women’s revolution in Northern and Eastern Syria an identity for the women of the world.”

“752 FIGHTERS WERE MARTYRED”

YPJ also mentioned the genocidal attacks against the Yazidis in Shengal on August 3, 2014 and said: “We had then promised Yazidi women that we would rescue the women abducted by ISIS. We kept this promise and rescued over 600 Yazidi women and children, step by step.”

The statement added that YPJ paid a price in the fight against ISIS gangs:

“This struggle was realized through the sacrifice, faith and resolve of thousands of martyrs. We remember our hundreds of martyred comrades in the persons of Comrades Warsin, Jinda, Sevin, Berivan, Silava, Barin, Avesta, Amargi, Agirin, Sozdar, Roksan and Beritan. Throughout these years of struggle, a total of 752 of our fighters were martyred as they wrote their heroic epics. 3000 comrades were wounded and are veterans now. Throughout the struggle, hundreds of civilians from all peoples in the struggle were martyred.”

YPJ General Command stated that the struggle under the SDF umbrella liberated a total of 52.000 square kilometers of land and rescued 5 million people.

“WE WILL CONTINUE TO ACT AS GUARANTOR”

The Command also thanked the international coalition forces for their support and continued. The statement then continued: “We as the Women’s Defense Units will continue our role and mission to be guarantor and defend women’s autonomy, and continue our role and mission in protecting women and the gains of the revolution. We will fulfill our duty to protect our people against domestic and foreign attacks.”

“WE WILL SAVE AFRIN”

YPJ General Command stressed the constant struggle and said they will continue to fight to save Afrin from invaders.

YPJ said: “We repeat our promise to save Afrin in the person of comrades Barin, Amargi and Avesta.”

YPJ celebrated the historic victory against ISIS for all peoples and women, and stressed that they will continue their leading role in national duties and women’s defense.