Displacement in Rojava reaches 300,000, most in besieged Kobane: Official

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Displacement across northeast Syria (Rojava) has surged to nearly 300,000 people, far exceeding United Nations estimates, with most sheltering in the besieged Kurdish city of Kobane, an official from the Kurdish-led administration said on Monday.

Sheikhmous Ahmed, who oversees camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees in Rojava, told Rudaw on Tuesday that “the United Nations statistics, which claim that 170,000 people have been displaced, are inaccurate,” adding that the actual number “is double that, reaching nearly 300,000 people.”

He added that a joint committee formed by the Kurdish Red Crescent and the Autonomous Administration is working to compile more accurate data, with results expected to be announced soon.

On Monday, UN Secretary-General spokesperson Stephane Dujarric announced that “160,000 people are still displaced” as of February 3, with electricity outages disrupting water systems, intermittent communications, constrained food supply chains, and schools still suspended in many areas.

The displacement surge follows a large-scale offensive launched in mid-January by the Syrian Arab Army and affiliated forces against the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Rojava’s de facto army, advancing across parts of Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, and Hasaka provinces.

Although the SDF and Damascus later announced an internationally brokered agreement to end hostilities and integrate Rojava’s civil and military institutions under state authority, Kobane in northern Syria has remained under a strict siege for more than three weeks, fueling alarm over worsening humanitarian conditions.

Ahmed highlighted Kobane as the epicenter of the crisis, saying the city alone is hosting over 200,000 displaced people. “Out of this number, 150,000 alone have fled from Raqqa,” he said.

He further alleged that massacres have taken place in dozens of villages south of Kobane, while Kurdish property in Raqqa, Tabqa, and villages south of Kobane have been “looted” and transported toward Idlib. “Tens of villages surrounding Kobane have been evacuated because a massacre was committed even against civilians,” he added.

Responding to a question from Rudaw about local media reports that up to 70 villages near Kobane had suffered looting and destruction, Dujarric said they “will look into these claims," adding that he has not received any information regarding the claims. "It doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened, it doesn’t mean it has happened. I just haven’t received it,” he elaborated.

Ahmed described dire living conditions in Kobane, noting that basic services have collapsed.

“Water and electricity have been cut off,” he said, adding that militants "have stolen" equipment from the R-cell internet company and generators from communication towers, worsening daily life for civilians.

Ahmed thanked the Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF) for what he described as its significant role during the crisis, praising its international reach, and also expressed gratitude to the Kurdistan Region for delivering urgent aid.

Following the attacks on Kurdish areas in Syria, people across the Kurdistan Region mobilized to support fellow Kurds in Rojava, collecting large amounts of humanitarian aid and dispatching hundreds of truckloads, mainly through the Barzani Charity Foundation (BCF).

Ahmed called on Barham Salih, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Kurdish former Iraqi President, to intervene more actively to assist displaced people who are in "a dire situation.”

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