The Turkish state has disregarded international laws and regulations protecting journalists' rights, targeting South Kurdistan and Rojava in its attacks. To date, Turkey has killed 14 journalists and wounded 7 others in these regions.
In the past, the Turkish state repeatedly attacked members of the free media through ISIS mercenaries. However, since 2019, it has escalated its large-scale attacks against journalists using drones and artillery fire. As a result of these attacks, 14 journalists have been killed, and 7 have been injured.
Attacks on the free media since 2019
October 11, 2019: journalist Vedat Erdemçi was killed in a Turkish airstrike on Serêkaniyê.
October 13, 2019: ANHA (Hawar News Agency) correspondent Seîd Ahmet and Çira TV (a Kurdish channel) correspondent Muhammed Hüseyin Reşo were killed in a Turkish bombardment on Serêkaniyê.
October 13, 2019: In Girê Spî, a vehicle carrying journalist Dilovan Gever was bombed by a drone. Gever was killed in the attack.
2019: Meringer Zizis Sinke, an employee at Free Bore printing house, was killed in a Turkish bombardment in Girê Xurma (Tell Tamer).
October 4, 2022: Researcher, archivist, and journalist Nagihan Akarsel was killed by the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) near her home in Bextiyarî neighborhood, Silêmaniyê (Sulaymaniyah).
November 19, 2022: In Rojava's Derik city, ANHA correspondent Îsam Abdullah was killed in a Turkish airstrike.
August 23, 2023: A vehicle carrying a JIN TV (the women's Kurdish Channel) team was targeted in an airstrike on the Qamishlo-Amûdê road. In the attack, JIN TV employee Necmettin Feysel Elhec Sinan was killed, while JIN TV correspondent Delîla Egîd was injured.
July 8, 2024: Following the anniversary of the 3 August 2014 Yazidi genocide, the Turkish state launched an airstrike on a vehicle carrying employees of Çira TV and Çira FM in Shengal. Three journalists and four civilians were injured in the attack. One of the wounded journalists, Murat Mirza, died of his injuries on 11 July 2024.
August 23, 2024: The Turkish state bombed a vehicle carrying journalists in the Seyîdsadiq district of Silêmaniyê. Free press workers Hêro Behadîn and Gulistan Tara were martyred, while six journalists were injured.
December 16, 2024: On the Tishrin Dam-Sirîn road, a vehicle carrying ANHA correspondent Cihan Bilgin and journalist Nazım Daştan was targeted by a Turkish drone. Both journalists were killed in the attack.
January 27, 2025: A Turkish drone targeted a vehicle near the village of Girdcal in the Çarqurne subdistrict of Ranya, Silêmaniyê. In this attack, journalist Aziz Köylüoğlu was killed.
These attacks once again reveal how the Turkish state continues its assaults on the free media without regard for international laws protecting journalists.
Turkey aims to silence the free media through these attacks and, with the support of its collaborators, systematically continue its massacres against the Kurdish people.
