On 10th anniversary of Kobani massacre: pain is still alive

At dawn on June 25, 2015, as the people of Kobani were sleeping after the pre-dawn meal of the ninth day of Ramadan, monsters devoid of all human dignity infiltrated their homes.

In a heinous crime, ISIS mercenaries backed by the Turkish occupation state, who had previously been defeated in the same city on January 26 of the same year, attacked the city of Kobani in a manner described as the most despicable.

Mercenaries disguised as People's Protection Units (YPG) members committed a horrific massacre that began in the village of Barkh Botan and spread to the city center. The massacre claimed the lives of 253 women, youth, children, and the elderly, and hundreds more were injured.

Among those who lived through this nightmare, Nabil Abdul Razzaq Kashal is a living witness to the tragedy, having lost his mother, father, and sister on that dark night. On the tenth anniversary of the massacre, he affirms that the pain is still present, as if time had not passed, and that the details of that day still haunt him with the same pain.

A Dawn That Will Never Be Forgotten from Kobani's Memory

In chilling details, Nabil Abdul Razzaq Kashal recounts the first moments of dawn on the day of the massacre, saying, "We woke up to the sound of gunfire. My parents got up for the dawn prayer, but my father sensed something suspicious was happening. He told my mother he intended to report it to the Internal Security Forces, and he did inform his Asayish comrades. They quickly headed to 48th Street in Kobani, but the mercenaries had blocked the roads, killing six of his Asayish comrades before they reached the village."

Kashal continues, "When my father returned, bullets were flying everywhere. ISIS mercenaries slaughtered children, the elderly, women, and men while they slept. Even infants were not spared. 27 people from the village of Barkh Botan were martyred, including my father, mother, and sister. I was still asleep at the time, but the sound of gunfire woke me up, and as soon as I heard it, I realized it was the mercenaries."

He added, "My mother didn't know what was happening, but as soon as she saw the mercenaries getting out of their vehicles shouting 'God is Great,' she knew they were ISIS mercenaries. She retreated, screaming, 'They are mercenaries.' As soon as they heard her, they opened fire on her. My sister ran toward her and was also targeted by their bullets. They were martyred together, side by side. Afterward, I met my cousin, who told me that my mother and sister had been martyred, and that my father had also been martyred on his way back."

"If only we could forget that fateful day..."

With these words, Kashal concluded his speech, saying, "It was a dark day in every sense of the word. No matter how many years pass, the pain of that bloody morning remains with me. The voices and wailing of women and children still ring in my ears, and the tears never dry up whenever I recall that scene. If only we could forget it... but we will not, and we will not let the blood of our martyrs be shed in vain."

T/S
ANHA