HPG honors Nûreddîn Sofî and Bahtiyar Gabar martyred in Turkish attack in 2021

In an obituary on Monday, the People’s Defense Forces (HPG) paid tribute to commander Nûreddîn Sofî and fighter Bahtiyar Gabar, who were martyred on April 6, 2021as a result of an attack by the occupying Turkish army in the Bergarê area of the Garê region, in the guerrilla held Medya Defense Zones in southern Kurdistan (northern Iraq).

HPG expressed its condolences to their families and the people of Kurdistan over the martyrdom of Nûreddîn Sofî, calling him “a brave son of the Kurdish people, professional revolutionary, victorious commander, and pioneer of the Rojava Freedom Revolution.”

The HPG obituary includes the following:

“Comrade Nûreddîn Sofî joined the Kurdistan Freedom Struggle and fought tirelessly for 24 years in the ranks of the PKK from 1990 to 2013. He then left the guerrilla ranks and joined the Rojava Freedom Revolution, continuing his struggle for another 8 years, for a total of 32 years. He held the highest levels of responsibility within the Kurdistan Freedom Guerrilla, rising from combatant to Commander of the HPG Main Headquarters. Without hesitating to make any sacrifice for the freedom struggle of our people, he devoted himself to revolution with passion, taking on every task, big or small. As the Rojava Freedom Revolution grew and the attacks against it intensified, he voluntarily left the guerrilla forces and joined the Rojava Freedom Forces. As far as we know, he took on important military and political responsibilities and played a leading role there as well. Nûreddîn Sofî, a leading revolutionary of the Rojava people, who spent 24 years in the mountains of Kurdistan, was martyred in an enemy attack on April 6, 2021, while visiting the headquarters of the People’s Defense Center to see his old friends.

Our comrade Bahtiyar Gabar, an Apoist militant who accompanied our comrade Nûreddîn Sofî on his visit and assisted him, also fell a martyr alongside him. Bahtiyar, a brave son of the Botan people, a young, agile, dynamic, and intelligent revolutionary like Sofî, fulfilled an important mission and joined the ranks of the martyrs.

As we commemorate Nûreddîn Sofî, the pioneer of the Kurdish nation, and Bahtiyar Gabar, the Apoist selfless militant, in the spirit of August 15, we pledge to be worthy of the struggle they waged and their heroic stance. We emphasize our determination to turn the Kurdistan revolutionary ideology that Sofî comrade taught us and embodied in his character into a banner for our people’s struggle for freedom. With these feelings, we extend our condolences to the patriotic Kurdistan people, especially their valuable families.

The identity information of our fallen comrades is as follows:

Sofî held the highest position in the PKK

Every society has a history of resistance, and folk heroes who lead these struggles and emerge from the heart of the community. These pioneers, who step forward without hesitation even in the most difficult and seemingly impossible circumstances, blaze a new trail, and create hope for a free future, earn an indelible place in the memory of their people. Being the leader of a people struggling for survival under genocidal attacks and reduced to the point of self-denial is one of the most difficult tasks imaginable. In such a reality dominated by darkness, Leader Apo (Abdullah Öcalan) and the PKK, alongside the Kurdish people, have achieved a unique and historic breakthrough. The PKK has become the story of a people’s rebirth, a movement of hope transcending Kurdistan and becoming universal, and the embodiment of the insistence on a life of dignity. The sacred march for freedom initiated by Leader Apo has become the hope of our oppressed people, and the bravest sons and daughters of the Kurdish people from all corners of Kurdistan have flocked to join the ranks of the struggle. The courage inherent in the very essence of the Kurdish people has been put into practice through the Apoist movement, giving rise to thousands of brave women and men following the Apoist line. Many Apoist militants have lived legendary lives, fought valiantly, and etched their names into history.

One of those who have carved their names into the history of Kurdistan with heroic epics is our comrade Nûreddîn Sofî. Known to all his loved ones as Sofî, he opened his eyes to life in the village of Mişêrfa in Qamishlo and was raised there. Sofî later moved to Aleppo to pursue higher education, where he encountered the Apoist Movement and became actively involved in the patriotic revolutionary youth movement. In August 1990, he decided to become a professional revolutionary and joined the PKK. He went to join Leader Apo and received his initial training at the Mahsum Korkmaz Military Academy in Bekaa (Valley in Lebanon). In a report he wrote in 2006, Sofî described his process of getting to know the PKK in the following words:

‘The PKK is a movement that seeks to recreate the Kurdish people, to create a people who look back on their past with pride, live their present with awareness, and look to the future with hope. This has found expression in our great martyrs, with the foresight and historical consciousness of Leader Apo. Just as a hydrogen nucleus, composed of a single electron and a single proton, is the lightest atom, it has achieved unlimited and infinite energy transformation. It has been seen with the Egîds, Zîlans, and Bêrîtans that even the weakest person can rise to the highest peaks by achieving momentum. Being a militant of such a movement with great values and a glorious past, and assuming authority and responsibility, is an extremely serious and heavy matter. For this reason, we must analyze ourselves thoroughly and raise ourselves to a conscious level of life, since it is our duty to be worthy of those noble values. Living with them means that our future is secure because they are the honorable past of the Kurdish people and the hope of the future. To stand before these great martyrs every day, to confess the sins, and to seek their forgiveness is the very essence of living with historical consciousness. If we bear the honor of being their comrades, if we live with the glory and honor of being Leader Apo’s soldiers, then it is our duty to self-criticize, to analyze ourselves, and to live as honorable human beings.

During high school and university, I read the writings of socialist thinkers and met PKK sympathizers. I may not have been created for the PKK, but the PKK was almost created for me. Because outside of the PKK, there was nothing but a name, an ordinary life, and thoughts of death. When I joined the PKK, I felt human, overcame all difficulties, and tasted happiness and joy.’

His first assignments in the guerrilla resistance took place in the southern Kurdish region of Heftanîn, where he gained experience as a fighter and later as a commander. Thanks to his quick wit and dedication, he took command of a guerrilla team in Qilaban (tr. Uludere) in northern Kurdistan in 1991. Further stages of his military career took him to the Zagros and Avaşîn regions, where he was involved in command structures. With his courageous and enthusiastic participation, he served as commander of the region comprising the Elbak, Payîzava, and Kelareş areas in 1994. During his two years as commander of this region, he carried out numerous actions. At the end of 1996, he spent two terms at the leadership academy, where he held administrative positions. After returning to the country, he took on the role of commander in the Zagros Mountains.

He fought as a battalion commander in the 1997 South War. In 1999, he moved to Qendîl as part of the withdrawal. In 2000, he played an active role in the war in Qendîl against attacks directed at our forces. Despite being exposed to intense attacks on his front, he did not retreat an inch and, together with his comrades, repelled all attacks. In 2003, he took on responsibility as the provincial commander of Amed and moved to northern Kurdistan. He led the historic June 1st Offensive in the Amed province, facilitating the development of numerous actions. In this way, he developed a stance and attitude against the treacherous, purging tendencies that were being promoted within the PKK. Until 2007, he served as provincial commander, establishing a strong system and carrying out powerful work that earned him a place in the hearts of the people of Amed. In 2005, he was elected to the Party Council of the newly reconstituted PKK and became a member of the Central Committee. The role he played in our movement, the struggle he waged, and his ideological and organizational level led him to take on an official role in the Apoist Movement and become a leader. He held the highest position in the PKK, thus taking his place in the leadership and leading our movement. In the years that followed, he continued to fulfill this leadership role with increasing responsibility.

After moving from the province of Amed to the Medya Defense Zones in 2007, he joined KONGRA-GEL to take a leading role in grassroots work. He achieved a high level of proficiency in KONGRA-GEL’s work style and pace. However, both his own desire and the request of his comrades who knew him led him to return to military work. In 2008, he participated in the 10th PKK Congress, where he joined the HPG based on the decisions made there and his own proposal. In February 2009, he was elected as the HPG Main Headquarters Commander at the HPG Conference, assuming the highest-level position. From 2009 to 2013, he served as commander of the HPG Main Headquarters. In 2011, when the Iranian state attacked Qendîl, he personally came to the area and, with his deep experience, directed the defensive battle and made significant contributions to its success. In 2012, he played a role in developing numerous strategies aimed at advancing the Revolutionary People’s War and countering the Turkish state’s attacks. To elevate the Revolutionary People’s War in Bakur, he personally moved to Botan in 2012 as the HPG Main Headquarters Commander. Always as enthusiastic as a child and as agile as a young person, Sofî served as an Apoist, selfless militant, rushing from one mission to another.

In 2013, the war between the PKK and the Turkish state ceased and a mutual ceasefire was declared. During this period, as mercenaries launched intense attacks against our people in Rojava Kurdistan, our comrade Sofî voluntarily left the guerrilla forces to join the Rojava Freedom Revolution. As a devoted son of the people of Rojava Kurdistan, a seasoned commander, and a pioneering revolutionary, he went to play a role in the revolution rising in the land of his birth.

Comrade Nûreddîn Sofî, a pioneer revolutionary and commander of the Rojava people, visited the Kurdistan mountains, where he spent 24 years, to see his old friends. While visiting the headquarters of the People’s Defense Center on April 6, 2021, he was martyred along with his comrade Bahtiyar Gabar as a result of an attack carried out by the occupying Turkish army in the Bergarê area of the Garê region. We extend our condolences to the beloved patriotic family of Nûreddîn Sofî, the people of Rojava, the people of North and East Syria, all the people of Kurdistan, and the commanders and fighters of the YPG.

Bahtiyar Gabar

Bahtiyar Gabar was born in Şax (Çatak) in the province of Van, a region with a deep-rooted tradition of resistance. Raised in a patriotic family belonging to the Ertûşî tribe, he grew up immersed in Kurdish values. At the age of six, he moved to Istanbul to live with relatives, where he also attended school. As a teenager, he began working part-time to support his family financially.

During his time in Turkey, Bahtiyar Gabar experienced firsthand the systematic discrimination and assimilation policies against the Kurdish people. This awakened in him a strong awareness of the need to resist the oppression of his people. In light of the atrocities committed by ISIS against the Kurdish population in Rojava, he decided to strengthen the resistance and join the guerrilla movement in 2015.

Bahtiyar Gabar received his basic military training in the Botan region, where he also gained his first practical combat experience. He then moved to the Medya Defense Zones, where he immersed himself in both the military tactics of guerrilla warfare and the ideology of the Kurdish movement. With his quick wit and dedication, he stood out for his seriousness and ability to find solutions to challenges. Even at a young age, he developed into a respected commander who successfully fulfilled the tasks assigned to him with his practical intelligence and deep understanding of the ideological principles of the PKK.

Bahtiyar Gabar distinguished himself not only through his military skills, but also through his sincere, friendly personality, which made him a valued comrade. He left a lasting impression on all his fellow fighters and was a role model in terms of commitment and camaraderie. He was a determined man who knew how to combine the theoretical foundations of the Kurdish movement with practical military tactics. His commitment and dedication contributed significantly to strengthening the guerrilla forces and the lines of resistance. He became a symbol for the next generation of fighters who are standing up for the freedom of their people.”