Mothers of martyrs have been protesting at Sêmalka for 27 days

For 27 days, mothers of the martyrs at the northern Syrian border crossing Sêmalka have been demanding that the bodies of fallen guerrilla fighters be handed over by South Kurdistan’s ruling party KDP.

Five HPG members were killed and two were injured in the Xelîfan region in South Kurdistan as a consequence of an ambush by armed forces linked with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which is engaging in Turkey's activities against the Federal Kurdistan Region. Families of the two guerrillas from Rojava, Tolhildan Raman and Serdem Cudi, planned to cross from North and East Syria to the Kurdistan Region through the Semalka Border Crossing to receive the bodies of their martyrs.

The mothers joining the action in a tent for 27 days have repeatedly been denied entry to South Kurdistan by the KDP forces, and have been put off with false promises. The KDP had recently promised to hand over the bodies of the martyrs to the families, but so far nothing has happened. The women are determined to continue their protest action until they succeed.

Members of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) have visited the vigil protest and expressed their solidarity with the relatives of martyrs today.

The activists reiterated their demand for the handover of the remains of Tolhildan Raman and Serdem Cudi and condemned the KDP’s complicity with the Turkish state.