Kobani
Kobanî | |
---|---|
City | |
Ayn al-Arab عَيْن الْعَرَب | |
UTC+2 (EET) | |
• Summer (DST) | +3 |
P-Code | C1946 |
Geocode | SY020600 |
Kobanî (كوباني, pronounced
From September 2014 to January 2015, the city was
In mid October 2019, Kurdish forces accepted the entry of the
Prior to the Syrian Civil War, Kobanî was recorded as having a population of close to 45,000.
Name
One theory of the origin of the name Kobanî (كوباني) is the word company, referring to the German railway company
The Ottoman name of the eastern village was Arab Punarı (
Climate
Kobanî has a
Climate data for Kobanî | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 7.7 (45.9) |
9.7 (49.5) |
14.6 (58.3) |
22.3 (72.1) |
26.8 (80.2) |
32.5 (90.5) |
36.4 (97.5) |
36.1 (97.0) |
31.7 (89.1) |
24.8 (76.6) |
16.4 (61.5) |
9.9 (49.8) |
22.4 (72.3) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −1.1 (30.0) |
0.8 (33.4) |
2.8 (37.0) |
6.5 (43.7) |
11.2 (52.2) |
16.0 (60.8) |
19.4 (66.9) |
18.9 (66.0) |
14.3 (57.7) |
9.2 (48.6) |
4.1 (39.4) |
0.7 (33.3) |
8.6 (47.4) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 78 (3.1) |
58 (2.3) |
52 (2.0) |
39 (1.5) |
25 (1.0) |
3 (0.1) |
0 (0) |
0 (0) |
2 (0.1) |
23 (0.9) |
37 (1.5) |
72 (2.8) |
389 (15.3) |
Average rainy days | 11 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 56 |
Average snowy days | 2.5 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 |
Average relative humidity (%)
|
75 | 67 | 60 | 56 | 42 | 40 | 34 | 34 | 44 | 47 | 55 | 75 | 52 |
Source: [16] |
History
Ottoman period
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
2005 | 54,681 | — |
2015 | 40,000 | −26.8% |
2016 | 44,821 | +12.1% |
Source:[17] |
Prior to
In 1892, there were three homesteads situated in the area.
The newly built town began to form south of a simple train station built in 1912 along the railway by workers from the nearby town of Suruç.
French Mandate
Some of the Kurds who settled in Kobanî were originally from the Kurdish regions in Turkey. Some fled persecution following the Kurdish-led
The city's infrastructural layout was largely planned and constructed by French authorities during the
Syria pre-autonomy
Syrian Civil War
Siege by ISIL
The
Kobanî Canton had been under attack by ISIL militants for several months. In September 2014, militants occupied most of the Kobanî region, seizing more than 100 Kurdish villages.[30][31] As a consequence of the ISIL occupation, up to 200,000 Kurdish refugees fled from Kobanî Canton to Turkey.[30] Turkish authorities did not allow the refugees to enter with any vehicles or livestock that they had.[32]
In captured villages, militants committed
Reaction
The humanitarian response to the people from Kobanî who were displaced to Suruc, Turkey, was highly polarized, with actors associated with the Turkish state on the one hand, and the pro-Kurdish movement on the other.[35] In September 2014, Defend International launched a worldwide campaign aimed at, among other things, raising awareness about Kobanî and the brutal attacks its residents were subjected to, and building connections between potential partners and communities whose work is relevant to the campaign, including individuals, groups, communities, and NGOs[36][37]
In October 2014,
On 4 November 2014, Akrawi said that "a massacre can be avoided, if there is a well-organized and well-defined plan on how to deal with IS – a plan that sets out the strategic and tactical activities to be undertaken at the international, regional and local levels," adding that journalists, humanitarian- and human rights organizations are not allowed to pass through Turkish checkpoints near the border.[46]
June 2015 massacre
On 25 June 2015, fighters from the
Reconstruction and development
After the ISIL siege was broken in early 2015, the Kobane Reconstruction Board asked for international assistance.[58] According to a spokesman for the Syrian Kurds who control the town, Kobanî had been 70% destroyed.[59] There have been several attempts to support Kobanî, especially from the Kurdish communities in Turkey and Iraq. Assistance was also offered by several European organizations. As of May 2015, Turkey has kept the border closed but allowed some materials to reach the city. The international community, including the US, has not shown interest in rebuilding the town, nor have they pressured Turkey on the matter.[60] By May 2015 more than 50,000 people had returned to the destroyed town. In May the Kobanî authorities, with the help of the municipality of Diyarbakır, managed to restore the water pump and supply for the urban area after 8 months without running water, repairing the pipelines and cleaning the main water tank.[61] By May 2016, despite the challenges of the blockade by Turkey, reconstruction and return of inhabitants was well on the way.[62]
In September 2016,
In an October 2016 report from the city of Kobanî, U.S. academic Si Sheppard observed: "Since the siege of Kobanî ended, reconstruction has barely begun to compensate for the havoc wrought on the city by both ISIS artillery and coalition airstrikes (...). Herculean efforts have cleared the streets, but water and power have yet to be restored. Although commerce is trickling back to life (...), more than half of the residential structures still standing are little more than blown out concrete shells. Yet the spirit of the people endures: Some now use defused ISIS rounds as ashtrays and flower pots."[65]
By 2019, atrocities by ISIL have driven many families of Kobani to convert to Christianity, while others chose to become atheists and agnostics.[66]
Entry of Syrian and Russian forces
Following the start of the
On 16 April 2021, a Turkish
Media
The documentary "Radio Kobani" won the Award for Best Documentary at the International Documentary Festival – Amsterdam (IDFA) in November 2016.[70]
In 2015, the Italian author Zerocalcare published a comics-illustrated book called "Kobane Calling" where he reported his experience among the defenders of the Rojava region.
The 2022 fiction film Kobane directed by Özmel Yasar, narrates the 2015 siege of the city of Kobane, inspired for the lead character on the actual female's commander Zehra Penaber [71]
Notable people
Alan Kurdi: a two-year-old whose image made global headlines after he drowned on 2 September 2015 in the Mediterranean Sea.
Notable sights
- Arin Mirkan Statue[72]
- Clock Tower[73]
Sister cities
- better source needed]
- Naples – In June 2015, the municipality of Naples, in Italy, recognised the municipality of Kobanî as a sister city.[77]
- Ancona – In June 2015, the municipality of Ancona, Italy, recognised the municipality of Kobanî as a sister city.[78]
See also
References
- ^ a b "General Census of Population and Housing 2004: Ain al-Arab nahiyah" (in Arabic). Syrian Central Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original on 24 November 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015. Also available in English: "Syria: 2004 census data". UN OCHA. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
- ^ "40 thousand have returned to Kobanê so far". BestaNûçe. 17 March 2015. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
- ^ Abboud 2018, Table 4.1 Cantons of the Rojava Administration.
- ^ a b "Syrian Kurds 'drive Islamic State out of Kobane'". BBC News. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 26 January 2015.
- ^ Graham-Harrison, Emma (31 January 2015). "Kobani: destroyed and riddled with unexploded bombs, but its residents dare to dream of a new start". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
- ^ a b "Syrian government forces set to enter Kobani and Manbij after SDF deal". The Defense Post. 13 October 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
- ^ a b according to a 2013 estimate, about 90% Kurds, close to 5% Arab and Turkmen, and 1% Armenians."The Second Report: Ayn al-Arab/Kobani, Etana Billetin-First issue". Etana Files. 1 December 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
- Imperial Ottoman Bank, 10% Anatolische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft, 7.5% Wiener Bankverein, 7.5% Schweizerische Kreditanstalt, 5% Banca Commerciale Italiana.
- ^ a b "Explained: Kobane or Ayn al-Arab?". Daily News. 28 August 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
- ^ Other sources that refer to this subject include Nedal Yousef, 'Interview with Hussein Amin Hussein about [his book] 'Ayn al-Arab – One Hundred Years "حسين أمين حسين"...يتحدث عن مدينة "عين العرب" في مئة عام.. (esyria.sy) 9 April 2009. Hussein Ali Hussein, "Ayn Al-Arab over a century" (عين العرب في مئة عام), Dar Al-Aqsa, Damascus (2007); the book is a history of the town compiled for its centennial from accounts in living memory (notably from one Mohamed Abdi, who according to Hussein died in 1998 aged 118, as well as "other centenarians from the region").
- ^ Patrick Cockburn, Isis in Kobani: Turkey's act of abandonment may mark an 'irrevocable breach' with Kurds across the region Independent 7 October 2014.
- ^ a b c d e Tastekin, Fehim (28 October 2014). "Erdogan plays 'Arab card' in Kobani". Al-Monitor.
- ^ a b c Movsesian, Mark (27 October 2014). "Kobani, Then and Now". First Things.
- ^ "Explained: Kobane or Ayn al-Arab? - World News". Hürriyet Daily News. 28 October 2014.
- ^ The district of Kobanî comprises about 170 villages: Gérard Chaliand, A People Without a Country: The Kurds and Kurdistan, 1993, p. 195. name of the station: Office International de Renseignements sur les Sauterelles de Damas, 1930, p. 43.
- ^ Weather Online, Weather Base, BBC Weather and My Weather 2, accessed 10 November 2012
- ^ Ivan Watson; Shiyar Sayed Mohamad (29 July 2012). "200,000 civilians try to escape violence in Syrian city of Aleppo". CNN.
- ^ a b Woolley, Sir Leonard (1920). Dead towns and living men: Being pages from an antiquary's notebook. Oxford University Press. pp. 178–221.
- ^ Heuzey, Léon; Hamdy-Bey (1899). "Les ruines de Arslan-Tash". Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres (in French). 43 (5): 617.
- ^ Nedal Yousef, 'Interview with Hussein Amin Hussein about [his book] 'Ayn al-Arab – One Hundred Years "حسين أمين حسين"...يتحدث عن مدينة "عين العرب" في مئة عام.. (esyria.sy) 9 April 2009. Hussein Ali Hussein, "Ayn Al-Arab over a century" (عين العرب في مئة عام), Dar Al-Aqsa, Damascus (2007); the book is a history of the town compiled for its centennial from accounts in living memory (notably from one Mohamed Abdi, who according to Hussein died in 1998 aged 118, as well as "other centenarians from the region").
- ^ Boyes, William (March 1916). "Persönliche Erinnerungen vom Bau der Bagdadbahn". The Technologist: Mitteilungen des deutsch-amerikanischen Techniker-Verbandes (in German). 21 (3): 80–86.
- ^ Cheterian, Vikin (2 October 2013). "Kurdish Leader Denies Syrian Kurds Seek Secession". Translated by Sami-Joe Abboud. Al Monitor. Retrieved 28 April 2014. Originally published in Arabic by Al-Hayat as أكراد سورية لا يريدون الانفصال نحارب النظام و"النصرة" ونخشى مجازر on 28 September 2013.
- ^ Korucu, Serdar (24 October 2014). "Bir Ermeni çocuğun Kobani hatıraları..." (in Turkish). Radikal.
- ^ السريان ..... عين العرب وتل أبيض (in Arabic). qenshrin.com. 18 October 2005. Retrieved 11 December 2014.
- ISBN 0745324991.
- ^ "Sınır Kapıları Listesi HUDUT KAPILARI NEVİLERİN GÖRE-AÇIKLAMALI SINIR ÜLKELERİ" (PDF) (in Turkish). Turkish Interior Ministry. 26 March 2013. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 September 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- ^ "More Kurdish Cities Liberated As Syrian Army Withdraws from Area". Rudaw. 20 July 2012.
- ^ "NATO's Secret Kurdish War: Turkey Prepares Iraq-Style Attacks Inside Syria – OpEd – Eurasia Review". 3 August 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
- ^ "What's happening in Kobane?". Kurdish Question. 6 July 2014. Archived from the original on 7 January 2015.
- ^ a b "Isis onslaught against Kurds in Syria brings 'man-made disaster' into Turkey". The Guardian. 22 September 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
- ^ a b IPD Group. "ISIL seizes 21 Kurdish villages in northern Syria, close in on Kobanî – World News Report". Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
- ^ Ayla Albayrak (17 October 2014). "Hundreds Wait for Kobani Fighting to End, Risking Lives at Border". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
- ^ "Turkey to Allow Reinforcements". The Independent. 21 October 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
- ^ "YPG retakes the entire city of Ayn al- Arab "Kobani" after 112 days of clashes with IS militants • The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights". 26 January 2015. Archived from the original on 16 October 2015.
- . Retrieved 11 November 2016.
- ^ "Save The Yazidis: The World Has To Act Now". Retrieved 12 September 2014.
- ^ "Artist Jane Adams invited to join DI campaign". 4 June 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
- ^ "Dr Widad Akrawi awarded International Pfeffer Peace Prize". Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ^ "Dr. Widad Akrawi Receives the Pfeffer Peace Award". Archived from the original on 19 October 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
- ^ "Dr Akrawi Dedicated Peace Award to Yezidis, Christians and Kobane". Retrieved 24 September 2015.
- ^ "Dr. Widad Akrawi Barış ödülünü Kobanê ve Şengal'e adadı". Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ^ "Peace award dedicated to Kobanî and Şengal". Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ^ "Dr. Widad Akrawi Xelata Aştiyê pêşkêşî Kobanê û Şengalê hat kirin". Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ^ "Xelata Aştiyê diyarî Kobanê hat kirin". Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 20 October 2014.
- ^ "Save The Yazidis: The World Has To Act Now". Retrieved 29 September 2015.
- ^ "Dr Widad Akrawi Interviewed at RojNews: Do you see a new Kurdish massacre looming in Kobane?". Retrieved 9 October 2015.
- Relief Web. 26 June 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
- ^ "Syrian Kurds say thwart big Islamic State attack on border town". Reuters, Yahoo News. July 2015.
- ^ "HRW: ISIS murdered 233 civilians in Kobanê since June". Dicle News Agency.
- ^ "Syria crisis: Islamic State 'kills 120 civilians' in Kobane". BBC News. 26 June 2015.
- ^ "Islamic State kills at least 145 civilians in Syria's Kobani". Reuters. 26 June 2015.
- ^ "ISIS 'kills at least 146 civilians' in Kobane, activists say". Yahoo News.
- ^ Hubbard, Ben (27 June 2015). "Mass Killings by ISIL Fighters in Syrian Kurdish Town". The New York Times.
- ^ "Isis in Kobani: Why we ignore the worst of the massacres". The Independent. 27 June 2015.
- ^ "Syria Islamic State: Kurds 'claim control over Kobane'". BBC News. 27 June 2015.
- ^ "IS 'executes 23 Kurds' in village near Syria's Kobane". Yahoo News.
- ^ "Syria crisis: IS re-enters Kurdish-held city of Kobane". BBC News. 25 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2015.
- ^ "News". Help Kobane.[full citation needed]
- ^ Paton Walsh, Nick (5 May 2015). "Syrian town tries to rise from ashes after ISIS defeat". CNN.
- ^ Geerdink, Fréderike (9 May 2015). "Closed Turkish border endangers present and future of Kobani". Beacon. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
- ^ Clifford, Peter (15 May 2015). "Kobane / Cizire Update 90: Kurdish Advance in Cizire Continues Taking 20+ Villages from Islamic State in 48 Hours". Retrieved 12 May 2015.
- ^ "Syria civil war: New beginnings in Kobane". Al Jazeera. 13 May 2016. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
- ^ "KRC opens the first hospital in Kobani". Hawar News Agency. 24 September 2016. Archived from the original on 3 March 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
- ^ "Das "Wiener Spital" in Kobane". Kurier. 31 December 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
- ^ Si Sheppard (25 October 2016). "What the Syrian Kurds Have Wrought. The radical, unlikely, democratic experiment in northern Syria". The Atlantic. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
- ^ Davidson, John (16 April 2019). "Christianity grows in Syrian town once besieged by Islamic State". Reuters. Kobanî. Archived from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2019.
- ^ Genesove, Ziv. "On Syria's border, a snapshot of Kurdish town's 2018 calm ahead of current storm". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
- ^ "Russian military police deploy in Syria's Kobani as part of deal with Turkey". France 24. 23 October 2019. Retrieved 28 October 2019.
- ^ "بعد أكثر من 40 سنة.. طائرة تركية تستهدف منزل مكث فيه عبدالله أوجلان أول قائد لحزب العمال الكردستاني في منطقة عين العرب (كوباني)". SOHR. 16 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
- ^ "Kobani film wins best Dutch documentary award". ARA News. 25 November 2016. Archived from the original on 27 November 2016.
- ^ "Kobane". IMDB. 23 March 2023.
- ^ Kobane, Petra Ramsauer. "Kobane wartet auf einen Angriff der Türkei". NZZ am Sonntag (in German). Retrieved 11 July 2020.
- ^ "New Kobane clock tower symbol of Kurdish resistance against ISIS". www.rudaw.net. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
- ^ "Rome Declares Kobane 'Sister City'". Kurdishquestion. 5 April 2015. Archived from the original on 13 December 2016. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
- ^ QuotidianoNet (23 April 2015). "Roma si gemella con Kobane: "Simbolo di resistenza" - QuotidianoNet". QuotidianoNet (in Italian). Retrieved 15 February 2017.
- ^ "Roma abbraccia Kobane - Core". Core (in Italian). 24 April 2015. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
- ^ "Napoli in gemellaggio con Kobane: "Vicini a chi lotta per la pace e la libertà"". NapoliToday (in Italian). Retrieved 15 February 2017.
- ^ "Gemellaggio con Kobane, città simbolo della resistenza contro l'Isis: Sel deposita mozione". AnconaToday (in Italian). Retrieved 15 February 2017.
Works cited
- Abboud, Samer N. (2018). Syria: Hot Spots in Global Politics. Cambridge: ISBN 978-1-509-52241-5.
Further reading
- Gayle Tzemach Lemmon (2021). The Daughters of Kobani: A Story of Rebellion, Courage, and Justice. Penguin Press. ISBN 978-0525560685.