Ecologists Arin Muxtar and Muhammed Şex Haydar, who tried to extinguish the fire that broke out in the rural area of Halabja in South Kurdistan on 17 August, lost their lives after being trapped in the flames.
The KCK Ecology Committee issued a statement describing those who lost their lives while protecting nature as ‘those who displayed the greatest example of patriotism and ecological struggle.
The statement said: “With great sadness we have learned that on August 17, 2025, in the countryside of Halabja, Southern Kurdistan, the two ecologists, Arin Muxtar and Muhammed Şex Haydar, gave their lives while trying to extinguish the massive fires that had broken out.
On a daily basis, new wildfires and further environmental destruction are being witnessed in Kurdistan. The loss caused by this is incalculable. Just recently, four people had also lost their lives while attempting to extinguish fires in Eastern Kurdistan. We respectfully remember the selfless patriotic sons and daughters of the people who sacrificed their lives to protect their country’s nature, extend our condolences to their relatives, and wish a speedy recovery to the injured.”
The KCK expressed “gratitude to the Kurdish ecologists who are at the forefront of protecting their country’s nature. These ecologists, who were at the forefront of extinguishing the fire in Halabja, demonstrated the greatest example of patriotism and ecological struggle. We declare that we will protect the nature of Kurdistan, for which they gave their lives, under all circumstances and that we will continue to strengthen the ecological struggle.
In the summer of 2025, numerous forest fires and wildfires occurred in Kurdistan, Turkey, and many other parts of the world. The primary culprit behind these fires is the capitalist system and its derivatives, which view nature as an object, a source of profit, and a tool for exploitation. The pursuit of more profit, more capital, and more consumption has led to global warming and climate change. As a result of global warming and climate change, desertification and droughts have increased, and the growing droughts have triggered fires. There are also claims circulating that fires are being started to search for materials needed for developing new technologies. The likelihood of them being true is high. It would be naive to attribute such widespread and consecutive forest fires solely to negligence. Behind these fires are greedy capitalists who have never seen the world.”
The KCK underlined that “the recent fires have shown again that the current struggle is not sufficient. The ecological struggle should not only face the outcomes of the ecocide caused by capitalist modernity. You extinguish one fire, but those profiting from this system start a thousand more. The ecological struggle in Kurdistan and around the world must position itself directly against the capitalist system by integrating more of society as a whole. The struggle should focus not on the fires themselves, but on the mindset and system that cause and ignite them. A stronger ecological struggle is needed. If we do not solve the problems of mentality and system in the social nature, we cannot stop the ecocide. Therefore, we call on all ecological movements, especially Kurdish ecologists, to expand the democratic social struggle by establishing communes in all areas of life, starting with ecological-economic communes, against the immoral, heartless, and greedy system.”
Source: ANF News
