HPG (People’s Defense Forces) guerrillas Xebat Kop (Yunus Kardağı) and Zana Rojda (Ramazan Güçlü) held their ground for several days in the fight against the Turkish army in Omerya in the Mardin province until they fell as martyrs on 7 September 2022. Xebat Kop grew up in a patriotic family in Muş. Zana Rojda, on the other hand, came from the Haruni tribe in the Silopi district of Şırnak. Xebat Kop and Zana Rojda gained combat experience between 2013/14 and 2022 in the cities and mountains of Kurdistan against ISIS and the Turkish army. They were repeatedly injured, but still managed to escape encirclement by the occupying forces. Shortly before their deaths, they recorded audio messages that have now been published by Stêrk TV. The messages show the love and determination of the two freedom fighters.

One army against two HPG fighters

The battle with the Turkish army began on 4 September 2022. The two guerrillas attacked the occupation troops in close combat with hand grenades and assault rifles. In the process, they inflicted heavy losses on the Turkish troops and successfully retreated again. On 5 September, the Turkish army launched a full-scale invasion operation in the Omerya region. The two HPG fighters resisted for two days. Six fighter jets and two attack helicopters were used against the two guerrillas, repeatedly attacking the area. However, the two guerrillas were able to hold their position. The Turkish army then advanced against their position with excavators. But the guerrilla fighters struck the excavators and damaged them. Only after two days of non-stop fighting did Xebat Kop and Zana Rojda fall.

"We will fight to the last bullet"

The audio message begins as Xebat Kop turns on the device, and his voice is heard saying, "We will suffocate the enemy here." Then Zana Rojda takes the floor and says: "I greet you and send you my love. Last night, at 9:20pm, we encountered the enemy in the village of Serê Kaniyê in the Omerya area. The enemy has been conducting search operations in this area for a long time. We are in our fighting positions and are currently engaged with the enemy. We are fighting and resisting." Xebat Kop raises his voice from the background and shouts, ‘Berxwedan jiyan e’ (Resistance is life). Then Zana Rojda continues, "We are full of passion and our morale is high. If our voice is heard by our friends, let them know that we are in resistance. We will not retreat. We will fight to the last bullet. We love all our comrades. We trust in our party. Those who walked this path before us were also full of confidence and determination. We are happy and we have succeeded. We have taken the path of those who went before us. They have shown us the way with their determination and faith. We will fight to the last bullet. The enemy is now retreating in the face of our resistance and attacking with bombs from the air.

It is now 1.16 pm. The enemy attacked our positions at 12.50 pm. We will hold out and fight to the last bullet. We have burnt all our organisational documents and our belongings so that they will not fall into the hands of the enemy if we fall. We have planned it this way and we will fight the enemy to the end. If we have the opportunity, we will break out. But if we do not have the opportunity, we will not give the enemy the pleasure of capturing us.

The enemy now calls on us to surrender. We respond to these calls with grenades. We meet the enemy in the necessary way. The enemy advances against us with bullets and bombs. A fierce battle is raging between us and the enemy. We will fight resolutely to the end and confront the enemy with resistance. We may fall here, but we firmly believe that our party will win. It will never be defeated. We give our self-criticism to Rêber Apo, all companions and our people." After Zana Rojda's words, both can be heard shouting the slogan ‘Bijî Serok Apo’ (Long Live Leader Öcalan).

"This is the path of dignity and honour”

Xebat Kop speaks afterwards, saying: "We have been part of the PKK for a long time. Since the day we joined, we have participated in all the work with great joy and enthusiasm. We could not do justice to our fallen comrades. If we had not had any shortcomings, the enemy would not have been able to occupy Kurdistan in this way and ask the Kurdish guerrillas to surrender. We are very saddened by this. We do not accept this situation. We will resist and fight until the last minute, until the last second. If we have to fall, we will fall like Zîlan, like Mazlum, like Kemal. Our way is their way. We will not deviate from that way."

Xebat Kop can be heard saying to his comrade in a calm voice: "Zana, the enemy is here, fire a few shots." The noise of battle can be heard in the background. Xebat Kop continues, "Once again, I wish success to all companions. We now hand over to you the promise we made to the martyrs. This is the path of dignity and honour. No one should deviate from this path. We know that such losses as we are experiencing with you now hurt you deeply. But know that no matter what happens, we trust you, we believe in our organisation, and I believe that we will meet again even if we fall.

"The flag of the PKK will always fly”

Once again, I send my greetings and love to the companions in the guerrilla and all the comrades. We have discussed gender liberation in life with many friends. This is the reality of 'Jin, Jiyan, Azadî' (Woman, Life, Freedom). We are aware of it, and we are convinced that everyone else will be aware of it too. In this sense, we send our greetings to Rêber Apo (Leader Abdullah Öcalan), our comrades and the leadership of our party. The flag of the PKK will always fly; it will never be downed. The PKK's resistance will always be at the highest level, and we, as militants of this organisation, will always resist, fight and try to keep this flag flying high." Martyr Xebat’s last words were: "Long live Serok Apo, the martyrs are immortal!"