ISTANBUL: Turkiye’s pro-Kurdish DEM party on Saturday called for the blockade on the Kurdish-majority city of Kobani in northern Syria to be lifted immediately, warning of a “humanitarian tragedy.”
The situation in Kobani had escalated from a crisis into a “deadly catastrophe,” DEM said after sending a delegation to visit northeastern Syria which over the past week has been targeted by a major Syrian military offensive.
The Kurdish-held city, which is also known as Ain Al-Arab, is surrounded by the Turkish border to its north and government forces on all sides.
It lies around 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the Kurds’ stronghold in Syria’s far northeast.
“Both the military and humanitarian siege on Kobani must be lifted as soon as possible,” said DEM co-chair Tulay Hatimogullari.
Kurdish forces have withdrawn from areas near Kobani over the past week following pressure from the Syrian military as President Ahmed Al-Sharaa seeks to extend his control across the country.
As the military offensive advanced, residents of surrounding villages flooded into Kobani, where they were now stranded, Hatimogullari said.
“Electricity has been cut off, the Internet is cut off, water is cut off. This is a great humanitarian tragedy,” she told a news conference.
“Guarantor countries.. must urgently carry out their responsibilities to lift the siege on northern and eastern Syria,” she said referring to the US and western allies who for years have thrown their support behind the Kurdish-dominated SDF forces which have been forced out of the area.