YRA documents attacks on journalists and demands accountability

On October 12, 2017, journalist Delîşan Îbêş and journalist Hogar Mohammed, correspondents for ANHA agency, were martyred when a car bomb planted by ISIS mercenaries exploded on the Kharafi Road between Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor. The incident occurred during the Syrian Democratic Forces’ campaign to liberate the countryside of Deir ez-Zor from ISIS.

On October 10, 2019, journalist Welat (Dawood Erdemji) was martyred. On October 13 of the same year, journalist Saad Mohammed Saeed Sheikhmous al-Ahmad, a correspondent for ANHA agency, was martyred in a Turkish airstrike targeting a convoy of civilians heading toward the city of Serê Kaniyê during the Turkish attacks on the city. The following day, October 14, journalist Mohammed Hussein Rasho succumbed to injuries sustained in the same bombardment.

The five journalists continued their work documenting battles, attacks and civilian suffering under dangerous security conditions, seeking to bring events in the region to public attention.

Delîşan Îbêş: From the Voice of Kobanî to War Reporting

ANHA correspondent Delîşan Îbêş was born in 1991 in the city of Kobanî. After completing secondary school, she moved to Aleppo, where she studied at an institute of business administration. Following the July 19 Revolution in 2012, she chose to pursue a career in journalism, becoming a voice for her people.

Delîşan began working at Kobanê Dengê (Voice of Kobanî) radio on November 11, 2012. At the end of 2014, she joined the management of Cûdî Dengê (Voice of Joudi) radio before returning to Voice of Kobanî in 2015.

She later became a correspondent for Ronahî TV and, in 2016, began working as a war correspondent for ANHA Agency.

Delîşan was martyred alongside several civilians in a suicide attack carried out by ISIS on the Kharafi Road between Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor on October 12, 2017. The attack took place during the Syrian Democratic Forces’ campaign to liberate the Deir ez-Zor countryside from ISIS.

Hogar Mohammed: Camera That Documented Liberation Battles

ANHA correspondent Hogar Mohammed was born in 1991 in the Hilaliya neighborhood of Qamishlo. He attended school in the village of Kherbet Khdeir but did not complete his education and worked in agriculture with his father.

At the beginning of the July 19 Revolution, he joined the People’s Protection Units (YPG) before turning to journalism, using his camera to document his people’s struggles and suffering.

Hogar insisted on covering the Operation al-Jazeera Storm launched by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to liberate Deir ez-Zor from ISIS. Through his camera, he documented the battles to liberate the area and the conditions of residents under ISIS control.

Hogar was martyred alongside Delîşan in the attack on Kharafi Road on October 12, 2017.

Welat Erdemji: Documentaries Captured Battles in Kobanî and Serê Kaniyê

Journalist and documentary filmmaker Welat (Dawood Erdemji) was born in 1999 in the city of Riha in Northern Kurdistan. In 2014, he traveled to Kobanî to help produce a documentary about battles fought by the People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the Women’s Protection Units (YPJ) against ISIS.

He later moved with his family to Serê Kaniyê, where he produced several documentaries about battles against ISIS.

During Turkey’s attack on Serê Kaniyê on October 9, 2019, Turkish warplanes targeted his home, killing him on October 10, 2019. His body was never handed over to his family despite appeals calling for its return.

Saad al-Ahmad: Martyred While Covering a Civilian Convoy’s Arrival in Serê Kaniyê

ANHA agency’s correspondent, Saad Mohammed Saeed Sheikhmous al-Ahmad, was born on January 20, 2000, in the village of Bab al-Khair, north of Tel Tamer. Passionate about technology, he sought to develop his skills and gain experience in the field before joining the agency to pursue his ambitions.

On October 13, 2019, he traveled with a civilian convoy to Serê Kaniyê to document what he described as crimes committed by the Turkish state during the attacks. The convoy was targeted by missiles, killing him.

A few days before his martyrdom, he said: “Kurds are facing genocide, and the world is going through a dangerous period!”

Mohammed Rasho: Succumbed to His Injuries

Mohammed Hussein Rasho, a correspondent for Çira TV, was born in 1996 in the village of Talaf in the Jindires district of Afrin. He was forced to flee Afrin following its occupation in 2018.

Rasho accompanied the civilian convoy heading to Serê Kaniyê amid the attacks on the city but was wounded when the convoy came under fire. He was taken to Tel Tamer Hospital for treatment but succumbed to his injuries on October 14, 2019, despite medical efforts to save his life.

Avîn Ibrahim: We Documented the Attacks and Sent the Files to International Institutions

Speaking to ANHA agency on the anniversary of the journalists’ martyrdom, Avîn Ibrahim, Co-Chair of the YRA, paid tribute to the fallen journalists and offered condolences to their families, emphasizing that their deaths strengthened the determination to continue journalistic work.

Ibrahim said journalists seeking to convey the truth were targeted by authoritarian regimes, adding that journalists in Rojava also faced attacks from multiple parties.

She noted that international laws stipulate protections for journalists’ rights, but these protections had not translated into meaningful action on the ground.

Ibrahim confirmed that the YRA had documented attacks targeting journalists in Rojava and sent case files to international institutions and bodies responsible for protecting journalists’ rights. However, she said these institutions had taken no serious steps to hold those responsible for the attacks accountable.

She attributed the international silence to institutions acting in accordance with states’ interests, arguing that the absence of investigations and legal accountability prevented justice for targeted journalists.

Transitional Government Pledges to Follow Up but Takes No Action

Addressing Syria’s new transitional phase, Ibrahim called on the Syrian transitional government to demand justice for journalists who had been targeted and pursue their cases through legal channels.

Concluding her remarks, Ibrahim said the union had met with government officials and drawn their attention to the issue. She also criticized their silence, noting that the officials had accepted the criticism and pledged to follow up on the matter. However, no tangible action had been taken so far, she said.

ANHA