İsmail Özden
Born1952
Beşiri, Turkey
Died15 August 2018(2018-08-15) (aged 65–66)
Sinjar, Iraq
Cause of deathAirstrike
Other namesMam Zêki Shingali
Organization Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK)
Known forDefense of the Yazidi in Sinjar
Political party Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
Opponents

İsmail Özden (1952 Şimzê, Beşiri – 15 August 2018), aka Mam Zêki Shingali, was a Yazidi Kurdish member of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (Kurdish: Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê, PKK), famous for the leading role he played in the resistance to the genocide of Yazidis by ISIL. He was killed on 15 August 2018 in a Turkish Air Force airstrike.[1]

Early life

Ismail Özden was born in 1952 to a Yazidi Kurdish parents. He attended primary school in the village but dropped out of secondary school.[1] In 1969, at the age of 17, he moved to Germany upon the invitation of his brothers. He settled in Celle, where a Yazidi diaspora community was already present.

Political and military career

In 1978, Özden met sympathizers of the PKK and began to get involved in propaganda work for the party. In 1981 he became the founding president of the Kurdistan Patriotic Workers Association (Komeleya Karkerên Welatparêzên Kurdistanê) in Celle.[1] Also in 1981, he began to be involved in publishing the Sêrxwebun,[1] a publication of the PKK.[2] In 1985 Özden travelled to the PKK training camps and met Abdullah Öcalan, the PKK's leader. By 1987 he was a ranking member of the PKK. Due to his prior experience with the Kurdish movement in Europe, Özden was sent back to Germany by the PKK.[1] Between 1992 and 1996, he worked for the PKK in Germany. In Germany he was arrested and prosecuted for being a member of the PKK. He was released in 1998.

After the capture of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, Özden went to the Qandil Mountains in northeastern Iraq and became a member of the executive council of the Kurdistan Communities Union (Kurdish: Koma Civakên Kurdistan, KCK), a Kurdish political organization incorporating the PKK.[1] He was appointed leader responsible for Sinjar Province, also known as Shingal, part of Sinjar District in the Nineveh Governorate, northwestern Iraq. Özden was sent to replace the former leaders of the province, Vahiyettin Karay, alias Agit Civyan, and Agit Kelar, who were both killed along with 33 others during a meeting in the Qandil Mountains, by a Turkish airstrike.[3][4][5] The militant Kurdish organization established bases in the mountainous area of Sinjar,[4] where an armed force of about 2,500 was stationed.[6] Özden moved to Sinjar on 11 July 2011.[3]

Assassination

On 15 August 2018, the Turkish Armed Forces (Turkish: Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri, TSK), in cooperation with the National Intelligence Organization of Turkey (Turkish: Milli İstihbarat Teşkilatı, MİT) carried out a cross-border airstrike into Iraqi territory. The operation was named "Bedirhan Mustafa Karakaya" after a ten-month-old baby boy, who was killed along with his mother by an improvised explosive device of the PKK in their private car. The boy and his mother had been returning from their visit to the boy's father, who was serving as a gendarmerie sergeant stationed at Yüksekova, Hakkari, southeastern Turkey on 31 July 2018.[7][8][9] The MİT was able to listen to Özden's satellite phone and was thus able to localize his whereabouts.[3] His activity was observed for three days.[6]

A Turkish intelligence unit reported that Özden had arrived in Kocho village at around 12:00 hours local time on 15 August 2018. He was to attend a memorial service for the victims of the Sinjar massacre, which was perpetrated by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) on the resident Yazidis in early August 2014.[10] He remained in the area for about three and half hours. The airstrike did not begin during this time due to Özden's proximity to a large number of civilians. He left the meeting place at around 15:30 in an armored vehicle in a convoy of four cars, which was observed by air and land for approximately 20 minutes.[6] The airstrikes were carried out as part of a series of Turkish cross-border military operations with the alleged permission of the Iraqi government.[4]

Legacy

Ismail Özden is viewed by many Yazidi as a hero of the resistance of the Yazidi against ISIS.[10] In Turkey Özden was viewed as a terrorist[10] and he became the first person to be wanted on the Turkish government's red list.[8] The monetary reward for him amounted to ₺ 4 million (more than $1 million USD).[6] A ceremony was held to mourn his death in Celle, Germany.[11]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Mam Zeki: A life for his people". ANF News. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
  2. ↑ White, Paul (2015). The PKK. London: Zed Books. p. 140. ISBN 9781783600373.
  3. 1 2 3 Cebe, Özgür; Arslan, Sırrıberk. "Nefes kesen operasyon". Sabah (in Turkish). Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 Callimachi, Rukmini (16 August 2018). "Turkish Airstrike in Iraqi Territory Kills a Kurdish Militant Leader". The New York Times. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  5. ↑ Zaman, Amberin (16 August 2018). "Turkey kills PKK leader in Sinjar". Al-Monitor. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Akgüngör, İlker (17 August 2018). "3 gün adım adım izlendi, son darbeyi SİHA indirdi!". Vatan (in Turkish). Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  7. ↑ "TSK açıkladı: 'Mam Zeki Şengali' öldürüldü". Milliyet (in Turkish). 15 August 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  8. 1 2 "Sincar operasyonu son dakika haberi PKK'nın sözde sorumlusu öldürüldü İsmail Özden kimdir?". Akşam (in Turkish). 16 August 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  9. ↑ "Şehit Bedirhan Mustafa bebeğin ismi anaokuluna verildi". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 6 August 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  10. 1 2 3 Rogg, Inga (19 August 2018). "Ein Luftangriff versetzt die Jesiden im Irak erneut in Angst".
  11. ↑ "Ceremony in Celle for Zeki Şengali". ANF News. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
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