SORGUL ŞÊXO

Til Temir (Tell Tamer)- Following the attacks of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) on the Syrian city of Aleppo, the Turkish state and Turkish-backed factions such as Jabhat al-Nusra attacked the Afrin/Shahba canton, hosting thousands of displaced people of Afrin. On Sunday, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) declared a general mobilization in response to the ongoing escalation in northeastern Syria. On Monday, the Peoples’ Assembly of Afrin/Shahba issued a written statement, announcing that they decided to evacuate civilians in the areas besieged by the Turkish-backed factions in order to “protect civilians from a possible massacre”. Following the announcement, 200,000 displaced people of Afrin and thousands of Arabs left Shahba and Aleppo countryside to Tabqa and Raqqa.

 Following the call for mobilization by the AANES, women living in the town of Til Temir, Cizir canton of North and East Syria, started keeping a watch at night to protect their neighborhoods against a possible attack.

“People from all ages are ready to defend their neighborhoods,” said Gulîxan Sofî, Co-chair of the Peoples’ Assembly in Til Temir. “The enemy first targets women. We know what happened to Yazidi and Afghan women; Yazidi women were sold in slave markets. Therefore, women must first protect themselves and then their society.”

 Pointing to the attacks on the Shahba region, she said, “Our town may also be attacked at any moment” and called on women to support the defense forces and join the resistance.

 ‘We protect our neighborhood’

Yasmîn Tamir, an Arab woman of Til Temir, received weapon training several months ago. “I am currently a member of the Martyr Warşîn Commune. As a group of women, we protect our neighborhood,” she told NuJINHA. “Receiving weapons training is very important for us, women, because we must be ready for all kinds of attacks.”

‘Women should join the YPJ’

Yasmîn Tamir reacted to the war crimes committed against female fighters in Shahba. “We are not afraid despite all the attacks. The videos showing how the members of the factions committed war crimes against female fighters cannot scare us; on the contrary, they make us stronger. All women should join the YPJ to protect themselves and their lands.”

 In her speech, Yasmîn Tamir called for an end to the war and said, “This war should end now to protect people from displacement and massacres. The people of the region have been subjected to such attacks since the beginning of the Syrian crisis. We are against war but if there is war, we must protect our cities and society. I call on the international community not to remain silent against the ongoing attacks on North and East Syria in order to prevent a possible genocide against women, children and elderly.”