The action of the Families of Martyrs Council at the Sêmalka Border Crossing, demanding that the bodies of People’s Defence Forces (HPG) fighters who died as a result of an ambush by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), be handed over to their families, has reached its 40th day.
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 KDP, and families of two Kurdish fighters from Rojava planned to cross from North and East Syria to the Kurdistan Region of Iraq through the Sêmalka Border Crossing to receive the bodies of their loved ones.
Even after 40 days, the KDP has not handed over the bodies of the HPG fighters Tolhildan Raman and Serdem Cudi, who were killed in Xelifan on 28-29 August.
Ebdulkerim Ebdurehman, father of another Kurdish fighter who was killed while fighting against ISIS in Reqa in 2017, urged the KDP to accede to the demands of the families.
“Why aren’t the bodies of martyrs handed over to their families? Were chemical weapon used on them? Why won’t they give us our bodies? We want the answer!” he stated.
Ebdulrehman also reacted angrily to international organisations and human rights organisations for their silence in the face of Turkey’s alleged use of chemical weapons.
The bereaved father emphasised how very important it is to families to receive the bodies of their loved ones and said that the KDP should respect this.
