ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - At least nine people were killed and more than a dozen injured in an overnight fire at a prison in the Kurdish city of Kobane in northern Syria, Rudaw has learned, as Kurdish and Syrian officials sought to defuse tensions following days of protests over the killing of a Kurdish soldier.
The fire, believed to have been started by protesting prisoners, came after demonstrations across Kurdish areas of northeast and northern Syria over the killing of Sipan Hizni, a Kurdish member of the Syrian army.
What happened?
Hizni, a member of a Syrian army brigade comprising fighters from the now-dissolved Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), was killed near Hasaka city earlier this week after being kidnapped by armed men believed to be members of a prominent Arab clan.
State-affiliated security forces said they had identified the main suspect but had yet to arrest him.
The killing and the failure to arrest those responsible sparked anger among Kurds and triggered protests across Kurdish areas of northeast Syria (Rojava).
Despite calls for restraint by Kurdish authorities, peaceful demonstrations turned violent in Kobane on Friday, with some protesters attacking security forces.
The government deployed additional security forces to Kobane, in Aleppo province, and detained a number of protesters.
An eyewitness said tensions inside the prison escalated after detainees, including people arrested earlier in the day, learned that they would be transferred to facilities in areas of Aleppo city under full government control. Some prisoners then set their cell on fire in protest, the witness said.
“While we were being held in the prison, I heard a noise. We thought that it was people attacking the prison but this turned out to be untrue. In fact, they were members of the General Security entering the prison," Mahmoud, one of the prisoners who sustained burns in the fire, told Rudaw's Shivan Mise while receiving treatment at a hospital.
Mahmoud said 26 prisoners were being held in the cell, which caught fire after some detainees set themselves on fire. Nine people died and the others were injured, he said.
He said prisoners called on guards to let them leave the cell but were refused.
“We entered the bathroom and put a blanket on ourselves. Three of my friends died before my eyes.”
The fire was confined to their cell, according to Mahmoud, who sustained burns to several parts of his body, including his face.
“What wrongdoing have I done? I just complained,” he said.
Syrian state-run media reported early Saturday that seven prisoners had died and dozens suffered burns and smoke inhalation during a "prison riot" at Kobane prison.
The reports said some prisoners had set fire to the facility, with flames spreading to parts of the prison.
Authorities imposed a curfew late Friday, with local media reporting that it had been extended to 72 hours.
The Kobane branch of the security forces affiliated with the interior ministry warned against further attacks on personnel or public property.
"We warn that any attack on our personnel or public property, or any action that threatens civil peace, will be dealt with in accordance with the law, and the necessary legal measures will be taken against those responsible," it said in a statement.
Islamic slogans
Mise, Rudaw's reporter in Kobane, said members of a convoy of government security forces deployed to contain the unrest chanted Islamic slogans and made threats against Kurds.
“I heard them [state forces] saying slogans like ‘Allahu Akbar,’ ‘Western Kurdistan [Rojava] is a dream’ and ‘President Ahmed al-Sharaa is your master and we will eradicate you.’ I heard this myself when I was trying to film the scenes but they banned us and other media from covering the incident because we were in the alleys," he said.
Forces affiliated with the Islamist-led government have previously been accused of using similar rhetoric against Kurds, particularly during clashes between Damascus-affiliated forces and the SDF in January.
Some government-affiliated fighters and social media accounts have also described Kurds as "pigs" and issued threats against them.
Members of the Bagara clan, to which the main suspect in Hizni's killing is believed to belong, have taken up arms in an apparent attempt to prevent security forces from arresting him.
Efforts to deescalate
The unrest comes amid a major transformation in northeast Syria following the integration of the SDF into Syrian state institutions.
The Kurdish-led force was dissolved in August, with its fighters reorganized into brigades affiliated with the Syrian army.
SDF chief Mazloum Abdi, who oversaw the integration process, was subsequently appointed an adviser to interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, while senior Kurdish official Elham Ahmed was appointed to the interim parliament.
Despite the integration agreement, tensions between Kurdish communities and some Arab tribes remain a source of instability in parts of northeast Syria.
Abdi arrived in Kobane early Saturday in an effort to deescalate the situation, according to a Rudaw reporter on the ground.
Other Kurdish officials who have assumed positions in the Syrian government as part of the integration process have also called for calm and restraint.
Ahmed al-Hilali, deputy governor of Hasaka and a presidential envoy, met tribal dignitaries and other figures in Hasaka province "as part of efforts to follow up on recent developments in the area," according to his office.
The meeting discussed the latest developments and their repercussions, with participants stressing the need for dialogue and coordination among local communities to preserve stability and civil peace.
