ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Syrian Interior Ministry said Saturday it had launched an investigation into unrest following days of protests over the killing of a Kurdish soldier and after a prison fire in the Kurdish city of Kobane left at least nine inmates dead and more than a dozen injured.
In a statement, the ministry’s internal security forces said that “an investigation has been opened to uncover the circumstances of the incident, assign responsibility, and take the necessary legal action against anyone proven to be involved.”
The prison fire broke out amid unrest triggered by protests over the killing of Sipan Hizni, a Kurdish member of a Syrian army brigade comprising fighters from the now-dissolved Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). Several protesters were detained during the demonstrations and taken to the Kobane prison.
Tensions escalated after detainees learned they would be transferred to government-controlled facilities in Aleppo. The unrest inside the prison escalated into a fire, believed to have been started by protesting prisoners, that left at least nine people dead and more than a dozen injured.
In its statement, the ministry said that “the administration of Ayn al-Arab (Kobani) prison has not yet been handed over to official government authorities, as the transfer process remains subject to a legal and judicial framework,” emphasizing that “the prison file is still being processed by the competent judicial authorities, pending the issuance of the required decisions.”
Hizni was killed near Hasaka city earlier in the week after being abducted by armed men believed to belong to a prominent Arab clan, sparking widespread outrage after state authorities identified the main suspect but failed to make an arrest.
Tensions escalated late Friday after demonstrations in Kobane turned violent, prompting government security forces to deploy additional personnel and detain several protesters.
“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, an inmate receiving treatment for severe facial and bodily burns at a hospital, told Rudaw on Saturday.
“We entered the bathroom and put a blanket on ourselves. Three of my friends died before my eyes,” Mahmoud said, adding that 26 prisoners were confined in the cell when the blaze broke out and alleging that guards refused pleas to let them out.
Security authorities imposed a curfew across Kobane late Friday that local media reported was extended to 72 hours, with the local interior ministry branch warning that any attacks on public property or personnel would be met with legal action.
The incident occurred amid a major security transition across northeast Syria (Rojava) following the dissolution of the SDF in August, when its personnel were reorganized into brigades affiliated with the Syrian military.
Despite the political agreement that brought Kurdish leadership into advisory and parliamentary roles under interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, friction between Kurdish communities and Arab tribal groups remains a source of instability in the country.
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