The land of fire and sun has been the target of cultural and physical attacks in many periods of history. Therefore, there was no other way of life in Kurdistan except resistance and freedom struggle.
In response to these attacks, the youth of the Kurdish people wrote epics of heroism in golden letters on the free mountains. However, during this period, not only Kurdish youth, but also thousands of young people from different nations joined the struggle on the basis of Rêber Apo's [Leader Abdullah Öcalan’s] philosophy of the brotherhood of peoples. Ahmed Adnan Berhawa (Ebû Leyla Şehîd) is a young man from the Arab nation who fought for freedom on the summit of the mountains of Kurdistan.
Ahmed Adnan Berhawa was born into a patriotic family in the city of Manbij in North and East Syria. Growing up in the ancient and deep-rooted culture of the Arab people, Berhawa was raised by his family to respect the other peoples and beliefs they lived with. At a young age, he witnessed the plundering of his city and the massacre of his people. During the occupation of Manbij by ISIS gangs, the massacre of many of his people caused great anger to Ahmed Adnan Berhawa. He then started to oppose ISIS and was arrested by the gangs and held captive for 4 months. During his captivity, he was subjected to heavy torture and atrocities at the hands of the gangs. After being freed from ISIS, Ahmed Adnan took up arms and joined the YPG [People’s Defense Units] in order to free his city and his people from the gangs.
Shortly after the operation for the liberation of Manbij began, he went to his city and took part in the operation. He fought with great sacrifice to liberate his people and his city. Witnessing the martyrdom of dozens of his comrades in the campaign for the liberation of Manbij, he was very impressed by how the commander Feysel Ebû Leyla led the resistance against the gangs and fell a martyr whilst fighting sacrificially until his last breath. He changed his name from Şervan to Ebû Leyla Şehîd and took the name of commander Feysel Ebû Leyla. After the end of the ISIS threat to a large extent, he decided to take part in the resistance against the attacks of the occupying Turkish state. On this basis, he took to the mountains of Kurdistan and joined the guerrilla ranks.
Ebû Leyla fought on the front lines against the enemy at the summit of the mountains of Kurdistan with the philosophy of the brotherhood of peoples and learnt all the details of mountain life in a short time. Ebû Leyla, who was now a competent guerrilla thanks to the military and ideological training he received, moved to the resistance areas with great assertiveness and determination. Leading the Apoist line with his resistance, self-confidence, courage and great fighting spirit, he developed himself in Apoist ideology day by day. Aware of his responsibility as a militant of the Arab people, guerrilla Ebû Leyla fought with the awareness of this responsibility at every moment. Despite all the obstacles and difficulties, he never gave up the struggle.
The guerrilla Ebû Leyla, who fought with ever-greater determination against the attacks of the Turkish state, did not hesitate to go against the enemy with great courage, and he made an important effort in the growth of the resistance. Ebû Leyla, who managed to leave deep traces on all his comrades with his honest and sincere personality, fell a martyr together with his comrade Devrim Botan in the enemy attack on 30 April 2024. With this imposing march, he became the symbol of the brotherhood of peoples. With his courage, willpower, and struggle, he left behind a very valuable legacy.