The resistance of the Kurdish freedom guerrillas against the invasion attacks carried out by the Turkish state continues. In North Kurdistan, one of the places where the resistance is strongest, military operations have been carried out continuously this year. Batûfa Çekdar from the Central Command of the YJA Star (Free Women’s Units) spoke about the state of the war in Kurdistan.

The guerrilla commander pointed to the long history of the Kurdish liberation struggle and the PKK movement led by Abdullah Öcalan and said: "52 years ago, the seeds of free life were sown in Kurdistan and these seeds have produced today's resistant society. Our people have paid a high price in this uprising, but they have tasted the taste of free life in many periods of their history. People do not forget the taste of freedom. No one can resist the resistance of our people anymore.”

The last eight years represent a new phase of struggle

The YJA Star commander added: “The last eight years are a new phase in our struggle. This does not only apply to North Kurdistan. It applies to all our areas and our organization. However, the most difficult struggle is being waged in the North. It is a continuous war. It is a war against the most advanced technology of the time. We are fighting against an enemy that does not know any ethics in war.”

Campaign of annihilation against the philosophy of free life

Batûfa Çekdar pointed to the international dimension of the campaign of annihilation against the Kurdish movement and explained that the aim was crushing the guerrillas and wipe out the organized will of the population and the hope of many people. She said: "They want to break the will of the women who are fighting for freedom with Jin-Jiyan-Azadî. They want to leave the people in the clutches of the capitalist system with no alternative. For this reason, they are attacking the values ​​created by Rêber Apo's [Abdullah Ocalan] philosophy of free life with all their might. They are attacking with great hatred and anger. The occupation plan is to be carried out in several steps. They want to leave our movement and our people without prospects, so that we as a movement make strategic mistakes and no longer see a future."

War in North Kurdistan

The state of emergency, said the guerrilla commander, is in place everywhere in North Kurdistan, and the population, especially in rural areas, lives under constant military siege. Thousands of people have been arrested in order to break up organized resistance structures. "The mountains were covered with police stations and fortresses everywhere, starting from Dersim and Cûdî. With this, the state wanted to cut off the connection between the guerrillas and the population. After that, the connecting routes between the provinces were closed, and now they want to isolate the areas within the provinces from each other. They use ground and air technology to monitor all of our mountains and areas at all times. Cameras, photo traps and various surveillance devices have been set up everywhere. Reconnaissance aircraft are constantly in use.

As a further step, a wall was built along the border between Bakur, Rojhilat and Rojava. With the operation they call Claw Lock, they want to expand the border to Başûr [Kurdistan region in Iraq] by 40 kilometers and protect it with hundreds of checkpoints and outposts. That is why the war and resistance in these regions has continued for eight years with all its difficulties. The Turkish state uses hundreds of agents and contras to achieve its goal. It wants to decompose society. The contra-guerrillas are looking for traces of the guerrillas step by step in the areas of the North. Unfortunately, this situation is a repeat of the history of betrayal in our country.”

The YJA Star commander added: “The guerrillas have defended themselves against all the brutal attacks carried out by the Turkish state with tanks, planes and chemical weapons, in North Kurdistan as in all other areas. On this occasion, I commemorate with respect and gratitude all the martyrs of 2024. They defended the honor of our people and went down in the history of the Kurdish freedom struggle. All of their lives and struggles are an epic in themselves.

From Dersim to Serhed, from Botan to Amed, Garzan, Erzîrom, Van and Mêrdîn, a great struggle is still being waged. The resistance in North Kurdistan continues with new methods. The freedom guerrillas are fighting relentlessly in the mountains against the occupying Turkish state. An unprecedented resistance is taking place. The guerrillas will break the power and will of the occupying army. This struggle must be intensified by the revolutionary people's war. The guerrillas and the people must unite their forces and make every place a resistance area."