Ivana Hoffmann

Ivana Hoffmann (1 September 1995 – 7 March 2015), also known as Avaşin Tekoşin Güneş, was an Afro-German feminist communist who fought with the Marxist–Leninist Communist Party (Turkey) (MLKP) in the Rojava conflict of the Syrian civil war. She was the first female foreign fighter in the Syrian Democratic Forces to die in the conflict.

Ivana Hoffmann
Other name(s)	Avaşin Tekoşin Güneş
Born	1995 Emmerich am Rhein, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Died	15 March 2015 (aged 19–20) Tell Tamer Subdistrict, Syria
Allegiance	Rojava
Service/branch	Marxist–Leninist Communist Party (Turkey) (MLKP)

Hoffmann was born in Emmerich am Rhein, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, to a German mother and Togolese father.[1] The mother and Ivana later moved to Duisburg[2] where they lived in the Meiderich neighborhood and Hoffmann began to get involved into left-wing politics and came into contact with the movement of the MLKP.[1]

Hoffmann travelled to Syria to join the Rojava conflict in late 2014. In a video published after her death, Hoffman gave her reasons for joining: "I decided to come to Rojava because they are fighting for humanity here, for rights and for internationalism that the MLKP represents. We are here as the MLKP to fight for freedom. Rojava is the beginning. Rojava is hope."[3]

Hoffmann was killed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) while fighting alongside the People's Protection Units near Tell Tamer during the Eastern al-Hasakah offensive.[4][5][6] Anti-ISIL activists commemorating Hoffmann were later arrested in Izmir, Turkey.[7] To date, Hoffmann was the youngest foreign fighter killed fighting for the SDF.