Two Kurdish politicians, Heva Erebo (43), also known as Saliha Viyan, and Hogir Erebo (34), known as Dilawer Erebo, were killed in a Turkish drone strike in the Ranya district of Sulaymaniyah (Silêmanî), Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), on Monday, 27 January. Two other civilians were killed in the same attack, but their identities remain unknown.
Heva, a coordinating member of the women’s umbrella organisation Kongra Star and one of the founding members of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES, or Rojava), had travelled from her home city of Al-Dirbasiyah (Dirbêsiyê), on the Syrian-Turkey border, to meet women’s organisations. Hogir, a member of the Syrian Democratic Union Party (PYD), was in Iraqi Kurdistan receiving medical treatment after injuries sustained fighting ISIS in North and East Syria.
Hogir, a member of the PYD’s youth organisation, had also been active within the AANES for many years. The PYD, responding to news of the attack, described him as a person with a “revolutionary and fighting spirit”, who devoted his time and efforts to strengthening the organisation of his people. In its official statement, the party strongly condemned the killings as “inhumane”.
Kongra Star also issued a comprehensive declaration condemning the killings as a “new crime against humanity” and honouring Heva’s vital contribution to the liberation of women and the Kurdish cause.
Heva Erebo not only fought for equal representation of women but also for governance inclusive of the myriad ethnicities in the region. After the Arab-majority cities of Raqqa, Manbij (Minbîc), Tabqa (Tebqa), and Deir Ez-Zor (Dêrazor) were liberated from ISIS, she worked with Arab women there to build self-organisation and educate them to “develop a free will and take part in all areas of life”.
“She was an example of a revolutionary woman from whom all women could gain strength and see as their vanguard,” Kongra Star stated, emphasising that they will continue Heva’s struggle, saying, “No matter how big and painful our sacrifices may be, no force can make us return to a life of slavery and bow our heads.”
