He took the road to fight to defend humanity against ISIS atrocity. He first went to Qandil and joined the guerrilla ranks. Then he crossed into Rojava and took part in the liberation campaign in Serêkaniyê, where he fell a martyr on the battlefront.
The city of Serêkaniyê in the Hesêkê Canton of North and East Syria is among the places of the first battles in the Rojava Revolution Zone. With the start of the Arab Spring in 2011 and the collapse of the Bashar Assad regime in Syria, it came under the occupation of al-Qaeda- affiliated groups such as al-Nusra and Jaysh al-Hur. During 2012-2013, the People’s Defense Units (YPG) fought a mighty struggle to drive these groups out. In the wake of fierce fighting, the city was entirely cleansed of these groups.
After two years, ISIS mercenaries attempted to occupy the city, leading to heavy clashes and elimination of these groups once again. With the failure of al-Qaeda groups and ISIS, the Turkish state went into action, and launched occupation attacks against the city on 9 October 2019. The city has come to the fore because of constant violations committed by Turkish forces and allied mercenary groups since. One of those who fell fighting ISIS in the city in 2015 is Aryel Botan, a fighter in the ranks of the YPG.
FROM TEHRAN TO QANDIL, THEN TO ROJAVA
Muhammed Hüseyin Karimi, known as Aryel Botan with his nom de guerre. He was born in Tehran on 19 January 1990. Like many other internationalists, Aryel Botan also set off to do something after learning about the ISIS atrocities in Iraq and Syria. To this end, he went to South Kurdistan and joined the guerrilla ranks in 2015. After a short while, he crossed into Rojava to take part in the fight against ISIS.
He quickly adapted to the region and the struggle and finally participated in the liberation campaign against ISIS in Serêkaniyê. In a video shot before his martyrdom, he said; “I joined the YPG to confront the atrocities committed by ISIS by abusing religion. This tyranny destroyed religion and uttered threats to the entire world. Here, a fight is waged under the leadership of the YPG for a freer and equal life against racism. I hope that all people achieve this free and peaceful life one day...”
Martyr Aryel Botan fell a martyr whilst fighting ISIS on the battlefront in the village of Til Boxa near Serêkaniyê on 9 May 2015.
