Thousands of people in North and East Syria bid farewell to Ziyad Heleb (Ziyad Qedûr), commander of the Aleppo Internal Security Forces, who was martyred during the Sheikh Maqsoud resistance on January 10, Malik Mihemed, a SDF fighter who was martyred while in Tabqa on January 10, and Birûsk Mexaric (Behcet İyî), who was martyred in Kobane on January 12.
Members of the Women’s Internal Security Forces, Gerîla Amara and Leya Qasim, who also fell in Aleppo, were also honored at the ceremony in the northern Syrian city of Kobanê on Tuesday.
The funeral ceremony turned into a determined rally against the ongoing attacks on the Kurdish-dominated districts of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah in Aleppo, which have been subjected to massive attacks in recent days.
The funeral at the Dicle Cemetery of Martyrs was attended by the relatives of martyrs and residents, numerous representatives of the Autonomous Administration, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Internal Security Forces, civil society groups, and tribal elders from various ethnic and religious communities in the region. The coffins were carried with honors, accompanied by chants such as “With soul and blood for our martyrs” and “Long live the resistance of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah.”
Mistefa Êto, Co-Chair of the Euphrates Canton Council of Martyrs’ Families; Hesen Koçer, Deputy Co-Chair of the Autonomous Administration Executive Council; Hisên Osman, Co-Chair of the Autonomous Administration Executive Council; Arîn Kobanê, a commander of the Internal Security Forces; and Harûn Kobanê, a friend of the martyr Ziyad, delivered speeches.
Attack on Aleppo involved ISIS mercenaries
In all speeches, Turkey was clearly identified as bearing primary responsibility for the attacks on Aleppo. Hesen Koçer, deputy co-chair of the Executive Council of the Autonomous Administration, spoke of a large-scale attack involving around 40,000 soldiers and mercenaries from the Syrian transitional government – supported by Turkish tanks, artillery, and aerial reconnaissance. Members of the terrorist militia ISIS were also deployed under Turkish guidance, he noted.
Koçer stated: “These attacks are part of a targeted campaign of destruction against the autonomous administration and the democratic project in northeast Syria. The bodies of fallen fighters were desecrated, civilians were deliberately killed, and vital infrastructure was blocked and bombed. The international community did not respond to the escalation. Neither the UN nor international organizations intervened. This exposes the double standards of so-called human rights defenders.”
“No Security Council, no UN will protect us; we must protect ourselves,” Koçer said and stressed that the people would be defended by all means necessary.
During the ceremony, Internal Security Forces commander Ziyad Heleb was repeatedly highlighted as a symbol of moral steadfastness. Shortly before his death, he is said to have declared: “If I fail, I will engage in self-criticism. But I stand firm.” Koçer said that the fallen commander’s attitude has become a moral guideline for many.
Security forces also reported that Turkish soldiers in armored vehicles were directly involved in the offensive, while ISIS mercenaries operated with their support. “They used tear gas, heavy weapons, they threw corpses from buildings—but we remained steadfast,” said fighter Harun Tolhildan.
Attacks on Aleppo violate international law
The co-chair of the Executive Council, Hisên Osman, stated that the attack on Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafiyah was a clear violation of international law. “These attacks violate all conventions; they are war crimes. Children, women, and the elderly were deliberately targeted,” Osman emphasized, adding, “The perpetrators will be held accountable—if not by international courts, then by the resistance of the people.”
Kobanê as a place of resistance
The speakers emphasized the unity of all communities in northern and eastern Syria—Kurds, Arabs, Syriacs, Armenians, Turkmen, and Circassians—against the ongoing attacks. “Whoever attacks Sheikh Maqsoud attacks all the peoples of this region,” said a spokeswoman for the security forces. She underlined that the people are determined to defend the project of democratic self-administration. The attacks would not break the determination of the population, but rather strengthen it, she underlined.
At the end of the ceremony, the certificates of death were handed over to the relatives. Amid chants of “Şehîd namirin” (Martyrs are immortal), Ziyad Heleb, Malik Mihemed, and Birûsk Mexaric were laid to rest.