The Peace Mothers Assembly, which set out from many cities across Kurdistan and Turkey, arrived in Ankara to protest attacks carried out by HTS-affiliated and Turkey-backed armed groups on the Kurdish- and Syriac-populated neighborhoods of Eşrefiyê (Ashrafieh), Şêxmeqsûd (Sheikh Maqsoud) and Beni Zêd (Beni Zayd) in Aleppo.

 

The group attempted to make a statement in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to protest remarks by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan that they say support the attacks. However, police blocked their access with barricades. Despite the obstruction, the Peace Mothers continued their protest behind a banner reading “Mothers do not accept war,” chanting slogans such as “Rojava is our dignity,” “We do not want war, we want peace,” and “Hakan Fidan resign.”

 

Speaking during the press statement, Peace Mother Havva Kıran said they had come to Ankara to demand peace and to address Turkish authorities. “We want peace and democracy to prevail. We call on international powers and Turkey: stop this war. If war begins in Ankara, then the solution must also come from here. That is why we are here. Hakan Fidan must resign,” she said.

 

Peace Mother Emine Eren, also called for an end to the war and demanded Fidan’s resignation, saying, “An inhumane war is being waged in Rojava. What is happening is a crime against humanity.”

 

Meryam Soylu, a representative of MEBYA-DER (Association for Solidarity, Aid, Culture and Unity of Families Who Lost Relatives in the Cradle of Civilizations), condemned the killings, warning that allowing DAESH to carry out massacres could have global consequences. “Everyone who calls themselves human must stand against this oppression,” she said.

 

Following the statement, the Peace Mothers continued chanting slogans demanding Fidan’s resignation before heading to the Ankara branch of the Human Rights Association (IHD).