JINHA

MÊRDÎN – In the Kurdish city of Mardin, Turkey, over 10,000 people gathered for the arrival of the funeral convoys of seven YPJ and YPG fighters who lost their lives fighting Daesh in Rojava.

The crowd threw carnations and roses at the funeral vehicles of YPG fighters Baran Ayku, Eyüp Erol, Mustafa Kızılkaya, Ferdi Öztunç, Ozan Bozan and YPJ fighter Kesra Kayran as they arrived in Mardin province through the border gate in the town of Kızıltepe. Some in the crowd of over 10,000 cried as they embraced photographs of the fighters.

Police were on high alert throughout the convoy's route, with police vehicles frequently announcing warnings that they would intervene on the crowd. The group MEYA-DER, which supports the families of those lost in war in Mesopotamia, organized the gathering of over 10,000. Mardin co-mayor Ahmet Türk and his cabinet were among the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) and Democratic Regions Party (DBP) politicians present.. The funeral convoy of hundreds of vehicles set out for Diyarbakır, where the fighters autopsies will be conducted.

(ha-fa/mg/cm)