Mehmet Aksoy (filmmaker)
Mehmet Aksoy | |
|---|---|
| File:Mehmet-aksoy.jpg Aksoy | |
| Born | February 27, 1985 |
| Died | 26 September 2017 Raqqa, Syria |
| Nationality | British |
| Other names | Fîraz Dağ |
| Occupation | Film Director |
Mehmet Aksoy (24 February 1985[citation needed] – 26 September 2017), also known as Firaz Dag, was a British-Kurdish filmmaker. Aksoy was killed while covering the battle to retake Raqqa in Northern Syria from ISIS. He was embedded with the People's Protection Units when ISIS fighters overran a base where he was staying on 26 September 2017.[1][2]
Life and work
Aksoy's family are from the Alevi Muslim community,[3] and were originally from the Elbistan district of Turkey in Maraş province.Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page). and won awards in the Italian Short Film Festival and the UK Student Film Awards.[4]
Aksoy did not inform his parents of his plans before travelling to Syria in June 2017.[5] He did not want to fight with the Kurdish forces in Syria, but instead wanted to tell the stories of Kurdish fighters through his films.[6] He was the founder and editor-in-chief of the website Kurdish Question.[7]
His uncle, Firaz, had been killed fighting for the PKK militia during its conflict with the Turkish military in the 1990s. Aksoy went by the nom-de-guerre 'Fîraz Dağ' in honour of his uncle.[1]
After his death, more than 2,000 people turned out at a community centre in north London to pay tribute.[8] Aksoy is the fifth British citizen to be killed in Northern Syria while fighting ISIS.[9]
References
- ^ a b Vardy, Emma (2017-09-27). "British documentary-maker dies in Syria". BBC News. Retrieved 2017-09-27.
- ^ Matt Blake, "British film-maker killed by Isis militants in Syria". The Guardian, 27 September 2017. Accessed 4 October 2017
- ^ "Kürt Alevi Gazeteci Mehmet Aksoy Rakka'da şehit oldu". alevi gazetesi (in Turkish). 2017-09-27. Retrieved 2017-09-27.
- ^ "Panfilo, An Apocalyptic Fairy Tale". Elena Toccafondi. 2015-06-06. Retrieved 2017-09-27.
- ^ "London filmmaker 'killed by Isis' while documenting Syria fight". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2017-09-27.
- ^ "Brit filmmaker working with Kurdish militants killed by ISIS jihadis in Syria". The Sun. 2017-09-27. Retrieved 2017-09-27.
- ^ "The honourable child of his country, Martyr Fîraz Dağ | English". www.ypgrojava.org. Retrieved 2017-09-27.
- ^ Emma Vardy, "Syrian funeral held for British man killed by IS". BBC News, 3 October 2017. Accessed 4 Ovtober 2017
- ^ Ensor, Josie (2017-09-27). "British filmmaker killed by Isil militants while making documentary on Kurdish militia in Syria". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2017-09-27.