The vigil launched in Urfa’s Suruç district in protest at the Turkish state’s and allied SNA (Syrian National Army) gangs’ invasion attacks against North-East Syria continues on its 4th day.

The vigil at the border with Kobanê, which was started under the leadership of the Democratic Regions Party (DBP), the People's Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) and the Free Women's Movement (TJA), was attended by Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan’s brother Mehmet Öcalan, DEM Party Urfa MP Ferit Senyaşar, DEM Party and DBP Urfa, Antep and Amed provincial and district organizations, TJA activists, members of Urfa Peace Mothers Assembly and residents on Thursday.

The activists unfurled a banner reading "Rojava Rûmeta me ye" (Rojava is our honor) and carried photos of journalists Nazım Dastan and Cihan Bilgin, who were killed by a Turkish drone attack in Rojava on 19 December.

Fatma Akbaş, co-chair of the Association of Solidarity and Assistance for the Families of Missing Persons in Ancient Lands (KATDER), said that they will continue their action in solidarity with the people of northern and eastern Syria against the ongoing attacks.

DEM Party Silvan District Co-Chair Niyazi Soner condemned the attacks launched by Turkey and its paramilitary forces against the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria after the fall of the Baath regime. Referring to the worldwide solidarity demonstrations following the ISIS attack on Kobanê in 2014, Soner said, “Kobanê did not fall that day, and it will not fall today. Our hearts are with Rojava. Kobanê is Silvan, and Silvan is Kobanê.” 

"The Kurdish people want peace," said Zozan Ayhan, Antep provincial co-chair of the DEM Party, adding that they will resist possible attacks without backing down.

Mehmet Öcalan underlined that Turkey is attacking the Autonomous Administration by making up excuses and said, “Not a single bullet has been fired on Turkey from Rojava. Turkey wants to eliminate the peoples there, targeting the common life built on those lands. As the Kurdish people, we cannot accept the aggression on Rojava. People of various identities live together in Rojava. The Kurdish question must be solved democratically. If Turkey wants a solution, it must first achieve a solution to the Kurdish question.”