One year has passed since the Tishrin Resistance. After the attacks launched on Aleppo on 27 November 2024by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Syrian National Army (SNA) mercenaries, and following the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s rule on 8 December 2024, forces affiliated with the Turkish state, the Suleiman Shah Division (62nd Division, al-Amshat), the Sultan Murad Division (72nd Division), the Hamza Division (76th Division) and the Nur al-Din Zanki (80th Group), began their assaults on the Tishrin Dam.
On 8 January 2025, as the peoples of North and East Syria poured toward the Tishrin Dam, the Tishrin Resistance turned into a “People’s Revolutionary War.” With statements on 5 May 2025 by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Commander-in-Chief Mazloum Abdi and Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) Commander-in-Chief Rohilat Afrin, it was announced that the Tishrin Resistance had achieved victory against the attacks of the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army and the HTS mercenaries affiliated with the Syrian interim government.
Koma Cudi members said that the nearly five-month-long resistance has left a legacy of struggle for all humanity and added: “With the spirit of the Tishrin Resistance, in which the People’s Revolutionary War achieved victory, the same forces were once again confronted in Sheikh Maqsoud (Şêxmeqsûd) and Ashrafieh (Eşrefiyê), where a new epic was written.”
Koma Cudi member Xalid Derik, who dedicated the Tishrin Resistance to Abdullah Öcalan, the martyrs of the revolution, the Kurdish freedom fighters, and all the peoples of Kurdistan, especially the peoples of North and East Syria, said that one pillar of the Rojava Revolution is a revolution in culture and art. He said: “Today we are entering its first anniversary. At the most critical moment, our peoples of North and East Syria for the first time waged a People’s Revolutionary War at the Tishrin Dam. As Koma Cudi and as the cultural and artistic collectives of North and East Syria, formed through the labor of Abdullah Öcalan and the martyrs, we joined this resistance and took our place in it. As artists of a people, taking part in this resistance is our revolutionary and artistic duty. For our people and our land, we had to be part of this resistance with our saz (the traditional Kurdish lute), our songs, our voices and our art. One pillar of our revolution is also a revolution in culture and art. Through the songs and cultural and artistic work of the groups formed during the revolutionary process, thousands of people have joined this revolution. Many of our comrades are taking part in this revolution with a weapon in one hand and a saz in the other, fighting against the occupiers.”
The Tishrin Resistance prevented the occupiers from reaching Qamishlo
Derik said that the Tishrin Resistance was neither the first nor the last resistance in North and East Syria, added that a historic lesson had been delivered to the mercenary groups affiliated with the Turkish state and the Damascus interim government.
Derik said: “Our peoples of North and East Syria joined this resistance alongside their own fighters. In other words, it was a resistance in which a full People’s Revolutionary War was waged. To try to describe the heroism, sacrifices and self-sacrificing participation of our fighters in the Tishrin Resistance would always fall short. Facing mercenary groups that came backed by all the technical power of the Turkish state, our fighters displayed an extraordinary example of resistance and, through this struggle, inscribed their names in history in letters of gold.
Dozens of our fighters threw themselves against the mercenaries with a spirit of self-sacrifice, turning this resistance into a historic one. Had it not been for these self-sacrificing fighters, these mercenary groups affiliated with the Turkish state could have advanced as far as Qamishlo and occupied our lands, subjecting our peoples to massacre.
Our people also saw this danger and this reality and joined the resistance alongside their fighters. From our politicians to our artists, from our intellectuals to our writers, all segments of society took part in this resistance and stood with their fighters. At the Tishrin Dam, the people and the fighters, in one spirit, broke the mercenary attacks and delivered a response that went down in history. The Turkish-state-backed mercenaries were defeated in the face of this resistance.”
I drew strength from the courage of our people
Derik said that despite all the Turkish state’s technical and air attacks, the people who joined the Tishrin Resistance shattered the walls of fear. He concluded: “One of the memories I will never forget was the courage of our people. Despite all the air strikes, there were attacks by reconnaissance aircraft, drones, artillery and tanks. Our people were directly targeted to break the resistance, and in these attacks, we lost dozens of our people as martyrs. Yet despite the reconnaissance of planes and suicide drones circling above them, our people broke through the walls of fear and stood by their fighters without hesitation. By fulfilling all the duties and responsibilities placed upon them, they brought this resistance to victory.
As Koma Cudi, we went to the Tishrin Dam to take our place in this resistance. When we saw our elders, our mothers, our fathers, and our younger brothers and sisters there, it gave us great morale and strength. For this reason, while our people took part once based on sharing responsibilities, we as Koma Cudi took part twice. We remained among the people, drawing morale and strength from their resistance.”
The whole world witnessed the Tishrin Resistance
Koma Cudi member Heci Musa said that the Tishrin Resistance was a struggle of profound faith and will, and that the peoples of North and East Syria demonstrated an extraordinary example of resistance before the eyes of the world. He said: “I congratulate the first anniversary of the Tishrin Resistance, above all to our comrades, our people and our fighters. What happened at the Tishrin Dam was not an ordinary resistance. It was a resistance waged with great will and belief, and one in which a great victory was achieved. The whole world witnessed this resistance. The peoples of the world saw very clearly that through a People’s Revolutionary War, great resistance is waged, and great victories are won. Because the victory achieved at the Tishrin Dam was not the victory of technology, but the victory of great will.
At the same time, this resistance was also a struggle against the psychological warfare that was carried out alongside all the technical and inhumane attacks.
In the world, there has never been a case of a mass of people flowing toward a battlefield. Yet our peoples of North and East Syria showed the peoples of the world such a rare resistance in history. In the face of this resistance, despite all the air support of the Turkish state, the mercenaries could not advance, and their will was broken.”
The Tishrin Resistance became the key to North and East Syria
Musa said they had stayed with the resistance fighters at the Tishrin Dam for eleven days and continued: “When we went to the Tishrin Dam, we too drew great morale and strength from what we saw there. Because the people there had broken down all the fortresses of fear. The Tishrin Dam Resistance became the key to North and East Syria. If the Tishrin Dam Resistance had not existed, all Rojava and North and East Syria would have faced great danger, destruction and massacre.
At the Tishrin Dam, a powerful example of resistance was displayed against the attacks of the mercenaries recruited by the Turkish state. These attacks were repelled, and the will of the mercenaries and the occupiers was broken. This resistance was an expression of the People’s Revolutionary War. Because those who took part in this resistance were not only fighters; they also included artists, intellectuals, writers, imams (Muslim prayer leaders), sheikhs, mothers, fathers, young people and children.”
Heci Musa concluded by saying, “Wherever there is an attack against the peoples of Kurdistan, we will always stand with our fighters and take part in the resistance.”