JINHA

MÊRDÎN – When a group of marchers attempted to march to the blockaded city of Cizre yesterday, police and soldiers attacked. The marchers resisted with slogans and stones until yesterday evening.

Turkish state forces have maintained a nonstop assault on the city of Cizre for weeks, as a popular resistance in the town continues. In the Nusaybin district in the neighboring province of Mardin, a vigil is ongoing for Cizre in the Girêmîra neighborhood.

Thousands gathered yesterday, accompanied by Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) MPs and local politicians, in preparation for the Botan March to besieged Cizre. The group set out as a convoy yesterday when, as they were passing the military post in Kemîna village, soldiers and police cut off the road. The group started a sit-in in protest while HDP MPs negotiated with soldiers, who remained unresponsive.

Upon hearing that the negotiations were fruitless, the crowd held a moment of silence and sang the revolutionary march “Çerxa Şoreşê” before standing and beginning to march. Armored vehicles and hundreds of soldiers and police attacked the crowd, who responded with stones and slogans. The crowd insisted on marching despite several heavy attacks with water cannons, tear gas and occasional live ammunition, building barricades in the road.

HDP MPs entered negotiations with the soldiers again. Towards evening, the crowd marched back to join the vigil for Cizre.

(zd/gc/cm)