Press Release
The Kurdish people and the Kurdistan Freedom Movement entered 2024 with resistance and sustained their struggle throughout the year against relentless enemy attacks.
The Turkish state, which bases its existence on the annihilation and assimilation of the Kurdish people, aimed to achieve this genocidal objective in its centennial year. The AKP-MHP government, in pursuit of its neo-Ottoman dreams, sought to annihilate the Kurdish people and expand to the borders of the Misak-ı Milli, aspiring to establish regional hegemony. Over the past decade, the Turkish state and the fascist AKP-MHP regime have focused entirely on this goal, channeling all of Turkey’s resources into the Kurdish genocide war. To this end, they have squandered Turkey’s wealth to gain international support, leveraged every form of collaboration, and indiscriminately deployed advanced warfare techniques, including internationally banned tactical nuclear bombs, prohibited explosives, and chemical weapons. They have ruthlessly massacred civilians, intensified prison oppression and torture, and remained relentless in their pursuits.
In response, the Kurdish people, led by their leadership, Freedom Movement, and Guerrillas, have mounted an unyielding resistance both within and outside Kurdistan against these genocidal assaults. To protect their existence and secure their freedom under the banner of “Free Leadership, Free Kurdistan,” the Kurdish people, from all walks of life, have risen up in villages, cities, and mountains, spreading their struggle to an international scale.
The Kurdistan Freedom Guerrillas, leading this sacred cause, valiantly resisted enemy attacks with the Apocu spirit of self-sacrifice, particularly in Bakurê Kurdistan and the Medya Defense Zones. Aware of their role as the legitimate defense force and source of hope and strength for the Kurdish people, the Kurdistan Freedom Guerrillas continued their fight in 2024 with unwavering determination. The pioneering act of the Immortals Battalion—comrades Rojhat Zîlan and Erdal Şahin—who carried out a self-sacrificial operation against the Turkish Ministry of Interior in Ankara on October 1, 2023, set the tone for the year. Embracing the standards set by the Apocu martyrs, the guerrillas adopted the tactics and strategies to elevate their resistance in 2024.
In 2024, the Turkish army continued its attacks in North Kurdistan, but it could not achieve its goal of eliminating our guerrillas. The war in 2024 showed very clearly that the tactical and strategic attacks by our guerrillas thwarted the enemy's plans. This result was also due to the attitude of self-sacrifice shown by commanders such as Edessa Cejna in Dersîm, Bêrîtan Nurhak Çiya, Herekol Şiyar, Brûsk Kato, Benda Amed and Serhat Jêhat in Botan, Mehmet Cûdî and Zerdeşt Suruç in Mêrdîn, Şêxmûs Malazgirt and Berwar Dersîm in Serhed, Hebûn Pîro and Botan Osyan in Amed and Zagros Cûdî in Van. In 2024, 36 of our comrades fell as martyrs while fighting in North Kurdistan.
The Turkish occupation army repeatedly attacked the Medya Defense Zones, often with the open support of the KDP and the Iraqi government. In 2024, commanders Alan Milazgîr, Orhan Cihat Bingöl, Şiyar Afrin, Dr. Sara Tolhildan, Zîlan Amed, Hevrê Çiya, Şervan Varto, Canşêr Şêrawa, Ekîn Rodî, Tufan Koçer, Devrim Botan, Xebat Türkmen, Piling Germiyan, Abu Leyla Şehîd, Sema Cuya Çewlîk, Ezîz Mûsil, Asmîn Seyît, Cemal Dêrezor, Kurtay Şahin, Hogir Merwan as well as 98 of our comrades fell as martyrs in the Medya Defense Zones. Our tunnel system stopped the enemy, and our guerrillas defended those areas and created opportunities to attack the enemy.
The identities of 134 fallen comrades were confirmed for the year 2024. 36 of them fell as martyrs in North Kurdistan and 98 in the Medya Defense Zones.
The Turkish army, boasting new tactics at the beginning of the year, proved incapable of innovation, resorting to outdated methods. The guerrillas thwarted their efforts, imposing heavy casualties on the invaders. In 2024, guerrilla actions led to the neutralization of 478 enemy personnel, including 9 high-ranking officers, inflicting severe blows on the Turkish army’s command structure.
Beyond ground resistance, the Kurdistan Air Defense Forces achieved significant advancements. On Newroz, they announced the downing of 15 Turkish UAVs since February 13, 2023. In 2024, they continued this success, taking down UAVs such as an AKSUNGUR on May 27 and an ANKA on June 6. These achievements demonstrated the regime’s vulnerability and highlighted the effectiveness of guerrilla tactics.
The Immortals Battalion’s autonomous unit, comrades Asya Ali and Rojger Hêlîn, crowned the year’s struggle with a self-sacrificial operation on October 23 at the TUSAŞ facility in Ankara, a symbol of the Turkish state’s war machinery. Their heroic actions, lasting 74 minutes of fierce combat, culminated in a historic victory, inflicting significant damage on the enemy’s critical infrastructure.
The 2024 struggle showcased the Kurdistan Freedom Guerrillas’ expertise in modern guerrilla warfare, from mountains to metropolises, tunnels to air defense. The movement’s progression toward Democratic Modernity Guerrilla Warfare has proven its resilience, ensuring the freedom of our people and leadership while demonstrating the inevitable defeat of the Turkish state’s genocidal policies.
2024 has shown that the Kurdistan freedom guerrillas have the ability to operate anywhere, from North Kurdistan to the Medya Defense Zones, from the mountains to big cities.
The balance sheet for 2024 is as follows:
Turkish attacks:
Attacks by fighter aircraft: 3255
Attacks by combat helicopters: 973
Attacks by drones: 136
Attacks using tactical nuclear weapons: 2
Chemical weapons attacks: 345
Attacks with improvised explosives: 645
Guerrillas fallen as martyrs:
Total: 134
Guerrilla air defense actions:
Drones shot down: 18
Şehîd Axîn Mûş unit actions: 23
Şehîd Doğan Zinar unit actions: 58
Total: 99
Guerrilla ground actions:
Infiltrations: 1
Attacks: 2
Revolutionary operations: 3
Ambushes: 4
Coordinated guerrilla actions: 13
Sabotage actions: 62
Sniper actions: 229
Battles – hit and run actions: 302
Use of heavy weapons: 409
Total: 1025
Total number of guerrilla actions: 1124
Enemy losses:
High-ranking soldiers killed: 9
Members of the occupation forces killed: 469
Total: 478
Members of the occupation forces injured: 161
December 30, 2024
THE COMMAND OF THE PEOPLE'S DEFENSE CENTER (HSM)