Yusra Darwish, the co-chair of Qamishlo Canton in North and East Syria, was assassinated yesterday, Tuesday 20th June, when the Turkish state bombed her vehicle near the Beyundar village on the Qamishlo-Tirebespi road. Leyman Shiweish, the deputy co-chair who was also in the vehicle, also died, alongside Farat Touma, their driver. Yusra’s deputy, Kabi Shamoun, was injured.

Kurdistan Solidarity Network – Jin condemn these and all other attacks the Turkish state is carrying out in its attempt to destroy, piece by piece, the work of building a democratic, ecological and peaceful future for North and East Syria. We stand with our sisters in Kurdistan and beyond and raise our voices in solidarity, defiance and shared pain. 

Yusra Darwish joined the Rojava Revolution in 2012 and worked for many years as a teacher, school principal and active member in the field of education. She was elected co-chair of the Amudê Education Committee  before becoming co-chair of the Qamishlo-Canton Council in November 2022.

Leyman Shiweish, who is also known as Reiyhan Amude, has been working for peace, democracy and women’s liberation for years and has played an important role in the women’s revolution in Rojava since it began.

Both women worked tirelessly for social change and the organization of social, community and political activities in the canton since the beginning of the revolution.

Once again, the fascist Turkish state attacks women who are politically active and at forefront of democracy & women’s liberation in society.

The Turkish state, which wants to annex Rojava and the region, is an occupying power committing crimes against humanity. On the eve of the 100th anniversary of the Treaty of Lausanne, internationalists must mobilise against these attacks, against the occupation and genocide, and defend the Rojava revolution and its lands.

The Turkish state‘s attempts to spread its fascist ideology across the Middle East will never succeed, thanks to the unity and determination of the people.

Jin jîyan azadî! Şehîd namarin!

Find out more:

Read the brochure from Kongra Star women’s movement in Rojava on the “Assassination of Vanguards of the Women’s Revolution” and the dossier from TJK-E women’s movement in Europe about the use of feminicide as a weapon of war.