JINHA

SÊRT – For the women of Siirt, March 8, International Women's Day, was a day of remembrance for fallen YPJ fighter ZehraSezgin (nom de guerre Jin Viyan), who was buried today in the city.

"We will continue comrade Jin's struggle until our last breath," promised Siirt's co-mayor, BelkızaBeştaşEpözdemir. The crowd of mostly women greeted the fallen fighter with slogans and cries in support of the PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan and the YPJ. She was borne to the cemetery on the shoulders of women.

Zehra Sezgin lost her life in a clash with Daesh forces on March 4^th in the course of YPG/YPJ efforts to liberate the villages around Kobanê. After her autopsy was performed in Urfa, Zehra was brought to her birthplace in Siirt. Around a hundred vehicles came to greet her coffin as it reached the outskirts of the city.

Police and riot suppression vehicles barricaded the entrance to the city. After a brief argument between the co-mayor and the police, the police were forced to open the road again.

Flags and slogans greeted Zehra as she entered the city, with members of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and Democratic Regions Party (DBP); associations TUHAD-DER and MEYADER, which support the families of prisoners and those lost in war in Mesopotamia, respectively; human rights activists, students, teachers, Peace Mothers and more among the crowd of nearly 10,000.

"My daughter is a martyr of Kurdistan," said Zehra's father, KenanSezgin, thanking the crowd of mostly women for attending. "And Kurdistan stands up for its martyrs. I bow in respect before all our martyrs."

MEYADERSiirt representative KadriyeCengiz and the city's co-mayor also spoke.

"We are sending off one of the women who made March 8 what it is this year with a spirit of rebellion," said the co-mayor, stating her respect for the YPJ fighter. "No one could stand before Daesh, no one had the encourage. Only Kurdish women stood with bravery and determination against the gangs—and continue to stand there."

Zehra's family will receive condolences for three days in a tent set up in their neighborhood of Şawuran.

(şö/fk/cm)