YPG Commander Diyar Bagok (Ekrem Bilge), who lost his life in the Kobanê resistance, was laid to rest yesterday at a ceremony in Nusaybin attended by thousands of people.

Diyar Bagok had resisted alone for 2 days when the ISIS gangs entered the asayish (security) building in Kobanê in October. He was laid to rest 6 months later in Nusaybin.

Diyar Bagok’s body was found in the asayish building during the search of the ruins of the building in recent days and was sent to Suruc from the Mursitpinar border gate to be handed over to his family. His body was taken by his family on Wednesday from Suruç and then taken to a hospital in the Kızıltepe district of Mardin. On Thursday, he was taken to his mother’s hometown, Nusaybin, to be buried there in a convoy formed by thousands of people.

While the shopkeepers closed their shops, thousands of people flocked to Newroz Square in the district from where Diyar Bagok’s body was taken from the ambulance and carried to the Nusaybin Martyrs’ Cemetery on the shoulders of the mourners. During the march towards the cemetery, more people joined the crowd, who frequently chanted the slogan: “Martyrs are immortal” and carried the flags of the YPG, YPJ and PKK. 

The ceremony at the cemetery was attended by HDP and DBP executives as well as the co-mayors in the region and representatives of MEYA-DER and NGOs. The ceremony started with a minute’s silence for all those who have fallen in the liberation struggle and continued with speeches by MEYA-DER Mardin representative Latif Tabar and the brother of Diyar Bagok, Hasan Bilge. Hasan Bilge read out the message sent to the ceremony by YPG fighters, who said they will follow in the footsteps of commander Bagok and vowed to fight until complete victory.

Following the speeches, YPG commander Diyar Bagok was laid to rest.

Diyar Bagok was one of the leading fighters in the Kobanê resistance and lost his life resisting bravely. Bagok always said the enemy could only cross the frontline over the dead bodies of YPG/YPG fighters. He did not leave his position for 2 days and fought until the last bullet alone in the asayish building.

Diyar Bagok took part in the liberation struggle for 25 years in the mountains of Kurdistan and lost his life in Kobanê in a historic resistance. He held the street where the asayish building is located alone when the ISIS gangs entered Kobanê on 6 October and reached the asayish building. He was wounded in the stomach, but continued to fight on for hours with the ammunition he had and refused to retreat despite the calls of his comrades. The gang groups deployed reinforcements to the area and exploded two bomb laden vehicles, but still Commander Bagok did not leave his position although he had run out of ammunition.

“We should never leave our positions. The enemy can cross our positions only over our dead bodies”. These words of commander Bagok guided the resistance in Kobanê.

The comrades of Bagok define him as follows: “Diyar Bagok was a modest commander of Rojava and the YPG. He was the servant of the organisation and the revolution. He felt the revolution deep down inside and acted accordingly. He never made a difference between big or small duties; he undertook all the duties with the same dedication and enthusiasm”.

Diyar Bagok was born in 1972 in the Derik district of Mardin. He joined the guerrilla ranks in the 1990’s during the years of national awakening and fought as a guerrilla for 25 years in areas like Mardin, Zagros or Dersim when the war conditions were the most severe. Following the Rojava Revolution, Diyar Bagok joined the YPG ranks. 

Bagok played important roles in the high ranks of the YPG during its formation and building its military system. He led the resistance in almost all parts of Rojava and went to Kobanê in June 2014 after the attacks of the ISIS gangs on the town.

Bagok was from a patriotic family. His father was murdered in 1994 in Nusaybin by Hizbul-contra forces. His brother, Zeynel Abidin Bilge (Piling), was an ARGK guerrilla and lost his life in 1996 in a clash in Cukurca. Another brother of Bagok, Hüseyin Bilge, has been in prison for 23 years.

His mother, Bahar Bilge (76), took part in the resistance vigil in the village of Mehser at the border during the Kobanê resistance despite her age. She said: “I am the mother of Serok (President Apo). I am the mother of all the fighters and the whole of Kurdistan. We are waging a struggle for our rights, and this brings losses. I am by no means different to the other mothers. I am proud of my husband and my children”. She said she wanted to be close to the resistance in Kobanê where her son was fighting, and came to the border village despite suffering a loss of sight.