ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdish city of Kobane in northern Syria observed its first day of general mourning on Sunday, with most shops shuttered as grief and anger gripped the city following days of protests and a deadly prison fire.
The mourning follows protests over the killing of Sipan Hizni, a Kurdish member of a Syrian army brigade, near Hasaka and the subsequent detention of several demonstrators.
Tensions escalated after the detainees were taken to Kobane’s main prison and learned they would be transferred to government-controlled areas in Aleppo.
Hizni was killed by armed men believed to belong to a prominent Arab clan, sparking widespread outrage after authorities identified the main suspect but failed to arrest him.
“Today in Kobane, if you pay attention and walk through the streets of the city, looking at the faces of Kobani's residents, you see sorrow, distress, and anger. If this anger continues in this way, it will be dangerous,” Masoud Bozi, a resident of Kobane, told Rudaw’s Shivan Mesi.
A fire subsequently broke out inside the prison as detainees resisted the planned transfer, killing at least nine prisoners and injuring 17 others. Several of the wounded remain in critical condition, according to medical officials.
“A great deal of resistance took place there [prison]. They wanted to transfer the prisoners to Aleppo, but the prisoners refused and resisted, saying, 'We will not go; we will die here, but we will not go.' We also want those responsible for the fire at the prison to be brought to justice,” said Ahmed Mohammed, the brother of deceased prisoner Khalid Mohammed.
Hospitals across Kobane have been treating those injured in the blaze, with some patients requiring intensive medical care and mechanical ventilation.
“Seven injured people were brought to us; one of them had already passed away upon arrival. According to inquiries we made with other hospitals, nine people have died, and others were injured. The condition of some of the wounded is critical and serious - some are on ventilators, and others have been transferred to Aleppo,” said Haval Ahmed, a doctor at the German Hospital in Kobane.
The unrest comes amid a broader security transition in northeast Syria following the dissolution of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in August and the reorganization of its personnel into brigades affiliated with the Syrian military.
A political agreement has given Kurdish representatives advisory and parliamentary roles under interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, but tensions between Kurdish communities, state security forces and Arab tribal groups remain a challenge to stability in the region.
