One of the founders of the Syrian National Democratic Alliance Party, martyr Ebdilrehman Xelîl Murshid, refused to surrender in Shehba on the morning of 2 December 2024. Surrounded by mercenary groups affiliated with the Turkish state, Murshid declared that he “would not surrender” and fired his last bullet at himself.
Who was Ebdilrehman Murshid?
Ebdilrehman Murshid, who came from Afrin (Efrîn) and was born in 1966, studied law at the University of Lebanon. Beginning in the 1980s, he worked within the circles of the Kurdistan Freedom Party to promote ideas of liberation, and during this period he was repeatedly arrested by the Baath regime. Despite severe torture, he continued his struggle.
With the declaration of the 19 July 2012 Rojava Revolution, he intensified his efforts. Together with his daughter Narîn, he helped expand the revolution from village to village and neighborhood to neighborhood, never once stepping back from the struggle. In 2014, he played an active role in establishing the Internal Security Forces in Afrin, setting up checkpoints, organizing defense structures, serving on the Council of Community Representatives and working within the Military Liaison Office.
During the 2018 Afrin Resistance, also known as the Resistance of the Age, he refused to leave his village of Miskê. He gathered wounded fighters from the outskirts and, together with his wife Ayrîn and daughter Narîn, treated them until the very last moment. When the forced displacement began on 18 March 2018, he walked to Shehba Canton with hundreds of thousands of people from Afrin. Yet the patriotism in his heart and his hope of returning to Afrin never faded.
Murshid continued his work in Shehba with the same determination, serving in the Internal Security Forces, the Council of Community Representatives, the Teachers’ Union and, most recently, in the Syrian National Democratic Alliance Party, which he helped found. Despite the embargo and constant attacks, he inspired hope in everyone around him and said, “We must persist in resistance,” and lifted the morale of those near him. He planted olive and fruit trees, telling those around him, “If we one day return to Afrin, let those who remain here benefit from them.”
On 27 November 2024, following the collapse of the Baath regime at the hands of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and the chaos that ensued, the Turkish state and its mercenaries launched a second occupation attack in Shehba against the people of Afrin whom they had forcibly displaced in 2018. Hundreds of thousands were once again forced onto the roads. As the attacks intensified on the night between 1 and 2 December, Ebdilrehman Murshid told his family and friends, “I would rather die than surrender.”
Ayrîn Murshid, both his wife and cousin, said that despite the heavy burden of family responsibilities and his interrupted law education, her husband always dreamed of returning to university.
Ayrîn Murshid said, “We grew up together from childhood. Even though he had paused his studies, he would say, ‘One day I will study again at the University of Rojava.’”
Ayrîn explained that Ebdilrehman became involved in political activity in the 1980s after encountering the freedom movement, and that he frequently visited the homes of “comrades” active in the movement. She said their home was raided many times by the Baath regime and that her husband was detained on three occasions and subjected to severe torture in the Palestine Prison. She said, “Despite the torture, he never gave up the struggle for even a single day.”
He treated the wounded during the Afrin war
Ayrîn Murshid said her husband refused to leave their village during the 2018 attacks on Afrin and worked for days to treat the wounded.
Ayrîn said, “He did not leave his village in the Cindirês area. Together with our daughter Narîn, he treated comrades who were injured on the outskirts.”
He continued his work in Shehba after the displacement
The family was forced to flee to Shehba Canton along with the people of Afrin on 18 March 2018. Ayrîn said that even in displacement, Ebdilrehman continued his duties within the Internal Security Forces, the Council of Community Representatives, the Teachers’ Union and the Syrian National Democratic Alliance Party. She said, “Even if he was displaced, his hope was not.”
He was a source of strength for everyone
Ayrîn said conditions in Shehba were extremely harsh, yet Ebdilrehman still became a source of morale for the people around him. She said, “Every day he would say, ‘We must persist in resistance,’ and he gave people hope.”
He sacrificed himself so he would not surrender
The Murshid family explained that during the displacement on 1 December, the convoy was surrounded by armed mercenary groups. Ayrîn said that in the midst of the clashes, her husband used his last bullet on himself in order not to surrender: “He fired his last bullet at himself so that he would not be killed by mercenaries and would not be taken alive. Even though his martyrdom is deeply painful for us, my children and I are immensely proud of him.”
Those who refuse to surrender are the greatest heroes
Narîn Murshid, the daughter of Ebdilrehman, said she still keeps the notebooks her father gave her and recalled how much he cared about education. She said, “My father taught me to value reading and writing.”
Ayrîn added: “Today, as I remember my father, I feel great pride. When I was a child, he always brought me notebooks and books and would say, ‘You must improve yourself in reading and writing.’ Wherever he went, he brought me a notebook and a pencil. Even today, after more than eight years, the pencils he bought for me remain among my most precious memories.”
Narîn continued by speaking about her father’s efforts in 2013–2014 to spread the philosophy of Abdullah Öcalan: “In 2013 and 2014, my father and I were at a faculty together. He was teaching students there, and I was one of those students. My father was spreading Öcalan’s philosophy in that environment. He also maintained security through a rotation system. At that time, Jabhat al-Nusra was preparing to attack Afrin. My father warned all the students and teachers in the center, placed them on guard at the faculty checkpoints, and prepared them to defend the country. Wherever he went, I stood beside him.”
Narîn said many families left their village during the war, but her father stayed to defend it: “More than 40 comrades came to our home each day, holding meetings. We treated the wounded together.”
He never lost his hope of returning
Narîn then spoke about her father’s deep attachment to Afrin: “After we were displaced to Shehba, my father often went to Soxanekê, one of the closest villages to Afrin. He would make preparations there and joke with us, saying, ‘Do you not want to return to Afrin? Come on, let’s go back.’ His desire to return continued until his final breath. He never once lost hope.”
Narîn also described the circumstances of her father’s martyrdom: “When the mercenary attacks began, the Shehba Canton was surrounded. I was in Hasakah (Hesekê), constantly asking about my family. A decision had been made for people to leave Shehba. I kept calling my father, but he was not answering, because at that moment he had already fallen as a martyr, although I did not know it. Some times later, the news reached me. As painful as it is, there is one truth: those who refuse to surrender are the greatest heroes.”
His other daughter, Jîndar Murshid, emphasized her father’s dedication to education and nature. A student of Agricultural Engineering, Jîndar said, “He always supported us.”
She explained that in their last phone call, her father told them they would reach their destination safely, but soon afterward, she learned he had been martyred: “My father said he would never surrender. He reached North and East Syria, but he reached it as a martyr. The strength we have today comes from our loyalty to his legacy.”