Two Kurdish journalists, Nazım Daştan and Cihan Bilgin, were killed in a drone strike yesterday while reporting on developments in northern Syria.
The attack was carried around 3.20 pm local time (GMT+3), on the road between the Tishrin Dam and the town of Sirin in the eastern countryside of Aleppo province, according to the northern Syria-based Hawar News Agency (ANHA).
The journalists were targeted by a Turkish armed drone, according to reporting from the pro-Kurdish Mezopotamya Agency (MA). The driver of their vehicle, Ezîz Hec Bozan, was injured in the strike. Turkey has not made a statement about the issue.
Bilgin was a reporter for ANHA, based in the Kurdish-controlled northeastern Syria, and Dastan was a freelance journlist contributing to the Fırat News Agency (ANF), a pro-PKK outlet.
The Dicle Fırat Journalists Association (DFG) condemned the killings, describing Daştan and Bilgin as courageous reporters dedicated to uncovering the truth. In a statement shared on social media, the DFG said, “Nazım and Cihan were two invaluable journalists who brought the realities of the war in northern and eastern Syria to the public. Inspired by their commitment, we will persist in relentlessly speaking the truth.”
The area has seen escalating clashes between the Turkish-backed Syrian National Army (SNA) and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) since early December. Turkey has reportedly supported the SNA with drone and artillery strikes as the conflict intensifies.
Condemnation from pro-Kurdish party
Gülistan Kılıç-Koçyiğit, an MP from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, condemned the killing of journalists and said, “Northern and eastern Syria is not a threat to Turkey, but a region of stability and peace.”
"I call on the government to comply with the international conventions that guarantee the inviolability of the press in times of war and to make an immediate statement about this attack," she said during her speech in the parliament as part of the budget talks.
Journalism grous including the Press Council (Basın Konseyi) and the DİSK Basın-İş union also called on the government to clarify the issue.
Previous killings of journalists
In the past two years, several Kurdish journalists have been reportedly killed in drone strikes in northern Iraq and Syria. Victims include Îsam Abdullah of ANHA in 2022, JIN TV staff member Necmeddin Faysal; and Çira TV reporter Murat Mîrza.
The Turkish government has remained silent on most of these cases. However, state media reported in August that Rojnews executive Gülistan Tetik (Tara), considered a high-level PKK operator by Turkey, was killed in a Turkish intelligence operation. (VK)