ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Several residents of Kobane in northeast Syria (Rojava) told Rudaw on Tuesday that their homes were looted and personal belongings taken after government forces entered the city’s outskirts following a ceasefire agreement reached late last month. The allegations come amid mounting concerns over a worsening humanitarian crisis in the area.
“They left none of our belongings. They took everything and left,” said Aliye Qawas, a resident of Girik village on the outskirts of Kobane.
According to information obtained by Rudaw, as many as 70 villages near Kobane have reportedly experienced looting and destruction allegedly carried out by armed factions backed by Damascus.
“They did not spare our homes; nothing of ours remains,” said Sosan Diban, another resident from a village outside the city.
In mid-January, the Syrian Arab Army and allied armed groups launched a large-scale offensive against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the de facto military authority in northeast Syria. The campaign resulted in advances across parts of Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, and Hasaka provinces.
Later that month, the SDF and the Syrian government announced an internationally brokered agreement aimed at ending hostilities and integrating Rojava’s civil and military institutions under state authority.
Despite the deal, Kobane has remained under a strict siege for more than three weeks, raising alarm over deteriorating humanitarian conditions.
Residents say the impact has been devastating.
“They did not spare our homes; nothing of ours remains. They buried our youth,” Diban said. “They left us with nothing, our boys, our girls, our homes. Where can we turn? We are leaning against a ruined wall.”
The humanitarian situation in Kobane remains particularly dire.
According to the Kurdish Red Crescent in Rojava, at least six children died last month due to limited access to medical services.
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