On the first anniversary of the unprecedented resistance at the Tishrin Dam, YPJ Commander Viyan Kobanê, one of the leading commanders of the struggle, spoke to ANF about the historic battle.
The first part of this interview can be found here.
When the mercenaries failed to advance on the ground, Turkish warplanes were brought in. Did the airstrikes affect your resistance?
There was resistance, on the one hand, and on the other hand, there were immense difficulties and limitations. But these limitations never put us in a position where we could not fight. The enemy used every type of technique against us. From chemical agents to warplanes and reconnaissance aircraft, they attacked us continuously. They burned everything around us, hoping our comrades would be affected by the smoke. The smoke from the areas they set on fire was usually poisonous. They used chemical substances to poison our comrades. When they realized that they could not break our resistance with tanks, artillery or individual weapons, they carried out extremely heavy bombardments. They tried new methods. But they did not achieve results. They wanted to use airstrikes to pave the way for the mercenaries’ advance, but they collided with our resistance instead. Our comrades were extremely vigilant about the enemy’s methods to avoid being destroyed. Many times, the tanks and artillery targeted the very positions where our comrades were holding the line. They came trying to capture us alive. They made calls for surrender. Through this special-warfare tactic, they wanted to create the perception that ‘the SDF and the YPJ no longer exist in Rojava and can no longer fight us.’ At one point, they even entered the dam briefly, took a few photographs and posted them on social media claiming, ‘We have captured the dam.’ Through this psychological and special warfare, they tried to distort our people’s attention and defame the SDF. But in the end, the fighters of the SDF and YPJ proved themselves with an extraordinary spirit of resistance. We saw this clearly in the resistance at the Tishrin Dam. No matter how much anti-propaganda they produced or how many special warfare methods they used, we gave the necessary response whenever it was required.
What was the role of the so-called Interim Damascus Government, known as HTS, in the war?
HTS saw our reality in the resistance at the Tishrin Dam. Within HTS there were different mercenary groups, including those loyal to the Turkish state. The Turkish state had trained HTS for years. In essence, at Tishrin, it was HTS that fought against us. We knew that HTS was organized by Turkey. We are not unfamiliar with the realities of states. We were fighting a state, which meant we had to understand its history and analyse its policies well. After HTS entered Turkey, they tried to give the impression that they had cut ties with the Turkish state. This was a deception. HTS knows very well what role the SDF play in Syria. They do not want to admit this truth because they do not want to appear weak in comparison to the SDF.
Alongside the resistance of the SDF and YPJ fighters, the peoples of Rojava came to the Tishrin Dam on 8 January and began a vigil that lasted 118 days. As fighters on the front line, how did you view this civilian mobilization?
Our people came to the dam and said, ‘We have torn off the garments of death. For us, death is nothing and it is the last thing.’ From seven to seventy, they came to the dam and supported their fighters. They told us that it was not only the fighters who were fighting, but that they too were fighting. They fell as martyrs; they paid a price. This is not something ordinary. The mercenaries had dreamed of taking North and East Syria and establishing their own rule, but they saw that things did not unfold as they imagined. The people of North and East Syria are trained in revolutionary people’s war and self-defence. All the anti-propaganda and special-warfare tactics used against the SDF and the YPJ were shattered in the face of the Tishrin resistance displayed by our people. The mercenaries saw that our people gave immense support to the fighters. We are the forces that protect our people, and behind us stood our people. They saw this clearly. Our people gave their lives to protect their fighters. We witnessed this concretely at the dam. Every comrade who fought heroically and fell as a martyr gave our people a powerful spirit of resistance. Even in the harshest, coldest days of winter, our people supported the resistance and helped us in every way they could. Whatever they were able to do, they did it for the fighters. In truth, the Tishrin resistance was completed by the combined resistance of the people and the fighters. We cannot view this resistance from only one side. Both the people and the fighters resisted. This has shown us that a fighter cannot exist without the people, and the people cannot exist without the fighters. The resistance here gave spirit to all four parts of Kurdistan.
The Tishrin Resistance has passed its first year, and its impact remains unforgettable. In your view, was the Tishrin resistance a turning point?
The resistance has completed its first year. Because we were constantly inside the war, we did not fully know how the resistance was perceived outside. We had heard that the regime had fallen. There was panic among the people. The press coming from outside focused not only on our resistance but also on the people’s resistance. Alongside the collapse of the regime, the central topic on everyone’s agenda was our resistance. The resistance of the people and the fighters appeared even more striking. Especially the struggle of every one of our people who fell as martyrs during the popular resistance created a strong public focus. To this day, conversations, discussions, memories and evaluations continue about the Tishrin Resistance, because it was long, enduring and incomparable. The most intense year of our war was 2014 in Kobanê. But our second-heaviest battle was the 2024 Tishrin resistance. The battles in Afrin (Efrîn), Serêkaniyê and Girê Spî had been difficult, but Tishrin was a final test for them. As you said, it was a breaking point and it was our last stronghold. Its impact was immense, and it was extremely important for us. The comrades who fought and resisted there were fully aware of this. Had there not been a resistance and a victory at Tishrin, our people could have faced genocide from one end of the region to the other.
You lost comrades on the front line. What impact did their martyrdom have on you and the other fighters?
Every comrade who fell as a martyr gave us immense strength, spirit and endurance. Their loss pushed us to strike the enemy harder and to pursue their revenge with greater determination. Yes, we have our aims and objectives, and we have deep faith in our ideology, but alongside that, we carry the spirit of our comrades. As fighters, we come together through the spirit of comradeship; we fight together. We give our lives for one another and we pay the price together. After each comrade fell, our anger and hatred toward the enemy grew. In the building behind me, two of our comrades fell as martyrs: Comrade Ronahî and Comrade Hebun. They were commanders of the battle and coordinated the fighters. Comrade Ronahî was our commander. She resisted the mercenaries in Manbij and also took part in the resistance at Tishrin. One of the most intense areas of clashes and fighting was the position where Comrade Ronahî held the line. But she never hesitated. She never once said, ‘I am leaving this position,’ or ‘I cannot continue here.’ She had no doubts. She was an exemplary comrade both in daily life and in the harshest moments of war. All the fighters at the dam took Comrade Ronahî as a model. They followed her even before she fell as a martyr. Through the radio, every comrade would call for Comrade Ronahî; she coordinated and led everyone. And then there was Comrade Hebun. She also resisted heroically and fell as a martyr. Comrade Hebun was Comrade Ronahî’s right hand. Wherever she was needed, she would go. She never said, ‘There is reconnaissance here, it is too dangerous.’ She carried ammunition while escorting fighters to the front. She never avoided a task. Both of these comrades played a crucial role in the Tishrin resistance. Until the fifteenth day of fighting, the most intense and violent clashes unfolded at the positions where Comrade Ronahî and Comrade Hebun were stationed. Many times the enemy reached the entrance of the tunnel and tried to infiltrate, but Comrade Ronahî never allowed it. She would tell the enemy: ‘Whatever you do, you will not extinguish our spirit; you will not break our will.’
As a commander, what was the first thing you observed in the fighters throughout the resistance?
Undoubtedly, many things can be said about the Tishrin Dam resistance. It is not something that can be described in one or two words. Only those who lived it truly know it, and only those who lived it can truly describe it. Even words may fall short. The enemy advanced toward us with every kind of technological superiority, but this never created hesitation in any of our comrades. When we spoke with the fighters or looked at their faces, we never saw a moment of doubt. Even though many of them were new, even though some were only just learning how to use their weapons, there was no sign of hesitation. On the contrary, there was a deep spirit of resistance. Many comrades had not slept for days. We no longer knew what sleep or rest meant. When we told a fighter, ‘Come and rest, you are exhausted,’ she would reply, ‘No, let the others come in my place.’ There was a spirit of comradeship filled with strength and devotion.
Finally, what was the most striking or affecting moment for you during the Tishrin Resistance?
What affected me the most throughout the resistance was our people coming to the Tishrin Dam and taking their place in the vigil. I kept saying to myself, ‘Everything is over. We will fight here, and we will fall as martyrs here.’ The attacks were extremely intense, and our external communication had been cut. But when I saw our people arriving at the dam, it was like giving water to a withering flower and watching it revive and bloom. I came back to life; I regained my strength. At first, I thought this feeling was unique to me. But when I shared my emotions with the comrades, I realized that everyone was experiencing the same overwhelming feeling. We had comrades who had fallen as martyrs. Because of reconnaissance drones overhead, we could not retrieve their bodies. We had wounded comrades, and we had to get them out before they fell as martyrs as well. What we lived through was deeply painful, but at the same time, it gave us enormous strength. From the moment I heard that our people were coming to the dam, I felt an indescribable surge of hope and belief. We understood that we were not alone. When we saw that our people were standing with us, we understood even more profoundly that both our pain and our joy were shared.