Arîn Mîrkan: Key figure in Kobanê resistance

On this day 12 years ago, specifically on October 5, 2014, Arîn Mîrkan carried out a fedayeen operation on Mishtenur Hill against hordes of ISIS mercenaries, changing the course of the battle and history.

Arîn Mîrkan, whose real name was Dîlara kênc, was born in 1992 in the village of Mîrkan in the Mobata sub-district of Afrin, into a patriotic family. Arîn took her name after one of the leaders of the Kurdish freedom movement and grew up within the same culture, awareness and national values.

In 2007, Arîn Mîrkan joined the ranks of the struggle, driven by her understanding of the reality of freedom for women and the Kurdish people. When the Rojava Revolution broke out, she actively participated in revolutionary activities from its early days. During the establishment of the self-defense forces, she fought alongside her three siblings on the front lines.

On April 4, 2013, she participated in the establishment of the Women's Protection Units (YPJ). Thanks to her strong will, Arîn Mîrkan quickly assumed leadership responsibilities. She played a historic role in organizing, training and developing women fighters, leaving her mark on many important stages of the revolution.

In June 2014, after ISIS occupied Mosul and Raqqa, it declared Raqqa the capital of its so-called “caliphate.” Seeking to destroy the gains of the Rojava Revolution and unite its territories, ISIS launched a full-scale attack on Kobanê from three directions on September 15, 2014.

ISIS mercenaries, who were working together to carry out genocide and looting, besieged more than 360 villages across an area of more than 4,350 square kilometers. ISIS attacked the region with heavy weapons, tanks and artillery seized from the Iraqi and Syrian armies. Faced with these brutal attacks, fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) and Women's Protection Units (YPJ), alongside the Euphrates Volcano Operations Room, resisted with only light weapons and prevented a massacre of 400,000 civilians in the region.

At the Forefront of Free Women and a Historic Response

When ISIS mercenaries reached the outskirts of Kobanê and Mishtenur Hill, they faced fierce resistance from YPJ fighters. At the time, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan repeatedly declared, “Kobanê has fallen, Kobanê has fallen.” On October 5, 2014, YPJ commander Arîn Mîrkan carried out a bombing operation at the summit of Mishtenur Hill.

Before carrying out her fedayeen operation, Arîn Mîrkan expressed the determination of free women in these words: “In the Kobanê resistance, Kurdish women have not yet had their final say. We are not afraid of the mercenaries. We will continue fighting until the end; rather than falling into their hands, we will sacrifice our lives.”

Arîn Mîrkan’s operation changed the course of the battle and thwarted ISIS’s plans, while also helping draw the world’s attention to the Kobanê resistance. The spirit of resistance embodied by Arîn spread to other women fighters, including Delfin Qamishlo, Nohal, Zin and Savushkian, and the resistance continued until Kobanê was fully liberated from ISIS occupation on January 26, 2015.

Leader Abdullah Ocalan’s Assessment

Commenting on Arîn Mîrkan’s operation and the role of women in the resistance, leader Abdullah Ocalan said: “In Kobanê, through the spirit of resistance embodied by figures such as Arîn Mîrkan, women opened their eyes to a new life and a new civilization. I salute with respect and appreciation the courageous women who continue their path with this spirit in the struggle for freedom.”

Mîrkan’s memory became a symbol of the struggle across the four parts of Kurdistan. In 2016, on the occasion of the 63rd anniversary of the death of Kurdish women's rights pioneer Hepsîxan Naqib, a statue of Arîn Mîrkan was erected in the city of Sulaymaniyah in Southern Kurdistan.

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ANHA