{{Redirect|Kobane|the book|Kobane Calling|the politician|Gezani Kobane}}{{Short description|City in northern Syria}} {{pp-extended|small=yes}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2015}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Kobani | official_name = ''Ayn al-Arab'' | settlement_type = City | image_skyline = KobanéVOA1.JPG | image_caption = View of Kobanî during the siege in 2014 | image_flag = | image_seal = | image_shield = | image_map = | pushpin_map = Syria#Asia | pushpin_label = Kobani | pushpin_label_position = bottom | pushpin_map_caption = Location of Kobani in Syria | map_alt = Map showing the location of Kobani in Aleppo Governorate, Syria | map_caption = Location of Kobani in Aleppo Governorate, Syria | mapframe = yes | coordinates = {{Coord|region:SY-HL_type:city(40,000)|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{Flag|Syria}} | subdivision_type1 = Governorate | subdivision_name1 = Aleppo | subdivision_type2 = District | subdivision_name2 = Ayn al-Arab | subdivision_type3 = Subdistrict | subdivision_name3 = Ayn al-Arab | established_title = Founded | established_date = 1915 | leader_title = Mayor | leader_name = Almaz Rumi<ref>https://hawarnews.com/en/almaz-rumi-assumes-her-duties-as-mayor-of-kobani</ref> | total_type = City | unit_pref = Metric | area_total_km2 = 7 | area_land_km2 = | area_water_km2 = | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = 520 | population_footnotes = <ref name=census2004>{{cite web |title=General Census of Population and Housing 2004: ''Ain al-Arab nahiyah'' |url=http://www.cbssyr.sy/new%20web%20site/General_census/census_2004/NH/TAB02-32-2004.htm |publisher=Syrian Central Bureau of Statistics |language=ar |access-date=15 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151124180529/http://www.cbssyr.sy/new%20web%20site/General_census/census_2004/NH/TAB02-32-2004.htm |archive-date=24 November 2015 |url-status=dead }} Also available in English: {{cite web |title=Syria: 2004 census data |url=https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/syria/dataset/syrian-arab-republic-other |publisher=UN OCHA |access-date=15 October 2015 }}</ref> | population_total = 44821 | population_as_of = 2004 census | pop_est_footnotes = <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bestanews.com/9048/40-thousand-have-returned-to-kobane-so-far |title=40 thousand have returned to Kobanê so far |work=BestaNûçe |date=17 March 2015 |access-date=12 October 2015 |archive-date=13 July 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180713165847/http://www.bestanews.com/9048/40-thousand-have-returned-to-kobane-so-far |url-status=dead }}</ref> | population_est = 40000 | pop_est_as_of = 2015 | population_density_km2 = | population_blank1_title = Nahiyah | population_blank1 = 78130 | timezone = AST | utc_offset = +3 | utc_offset_DST = | postal_code_type = P-Code | postal_code = C1946 | area_code = | geocode = SY020600 | website = }} '''Kobanî''',{{efn|{{langx|ku|Kobanî}} or {{tlit|ku|Kobanê}}, {{IPA|ku|koˈbaːniː|pron}}; {{langx|ar|كُوبَانِي|Kūbānī}}}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ehmed |first=Raman |date=March 12, 2020 |title=Kobanî yan Kobanê? |url=https://zimannas.wordpress.com/2020/03/12/kobani-yan-kobane/ |website=ZIMANNAS}}</ref> also '''Kobane''', '''Ayn al-Arab''',{{efn|{{langx|ar|عَيْن الْعَرَب|ʿAyn al-ʿArab|lit=Spring of the Arabs}}, {{IPA|ar|ʕeːn elˈʕɑrɑb}}}} is a Kurdish-majority city in the Ayn al-Arab District in northern Syria, lying immediately south of the Syria–Turkey border.
As a consequence of the Syrian civil war, the city came under the control of the Kurdish-majority People's Protection Units (YPG) militia in 2012 and became the administrative center of the Kobani Canton,{{sfn|Abboud|2018|loc=Table 4.1 Cantons of the Rojava Administration}} later transformed into Euphrates Region of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.
From September 2014 to January 2015, the city was under siege by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Most of the eastern parts of the city were destroyed and most of the population fled to Turkey.<ref name="driveIslamic">{{cite news|url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-30991612 |title= Syrian Kurds 'drive Islamic State out of Kobane' |date=26 January 2015 |access-date=26 January 2015 |publisher =BBC News }}</ref> In 2015, many returned and reconstruction began.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/31/kobani-kurdish-forces-retake-isis-destroyed-power-sanitation-bombs-residents-hopes |title=Kobani: destroyed and riddled with unexploded bombs, but its residents dare to dream of a new start |first=Emma |last=Graham-Harrison |date=31 January 2015 |access-date=2 November 2023 |newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref>
In mid October 2019, Kurdish forces accepted the entry of the Syrian Army and Russian Military Police in a bid to stop Turkey from invading the town.<ref name=":0" />
Prior to the Syrian civil war, Kobani was recorded as having a population of close to 45,000.<ref name=census2004 /> According to 2013 estimates, the majority of the inhabitants were Kurds, with Arab, Turkmen, and Armenian minorities.<ref name="etana">according to a 2013 estimate, about 90% Kurds, close to 5% Arab and Turkmen, and 1% Armenians.{{cite web|url=http://www.etanasyria.org/article-details/1/30|title=The Second Report: Ayn al-Arab/Kobani, Etana Billetin-First issue|date=1 December 2013|publisher=Etana Files|access-date=28 April 2014|archive-date=28 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140428074433/http://www.etanasyria.org/article-details/1/30|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==Names== One theory of the origin of the Kurdish name {{transliteration|ku|Kobanî}} ({{lang|ku|كوباني|rtl=yes}}) is the word ''company'', referring to the German railway company<ref>''Sociéte Impériale du Chemin de fer de Bagdad'', founded on 13 April 1903 with 40% ownership of Deutsche Bank, 30% Imperial Ottoman Bank, 10% ''Anatolische Eisenbahn-Gesellschaft'', 7.5% Wiener Bankverein, 7.5% ''Schweizerische Kreditanstalt'', 5% Banca Commerciale Italiana.</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite journal |date=28 August 2014 |title=Explained: Kobane or Ayn al-Arab? |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/explained-kobane-or-ayn-al-arab.aspx?pageID=238&nID=73591&NewsCatID=359 |journal=Daily News |access-date=21 June 2015}}</ref> who built the section of the Konya-Baghdad Railway that the city is placed along from 1911.<ref name="esyria">Other sources that refer to this subject include Nedal Yousef, 'Interview with Hussein Amin Hussein about [his book] 'Ayn al-Arab – One Hundred Years [http://www.esyria.sy/ealeppo/index.php?p=stories&category=directions&filename=200904091620011 "حسين أمين حسين"...يتحدث عن مدينة "عين العرب" في مئة عام.. (esyria.sy)] 9 April 2009. Hussein Ali Hussein, "Ayn Al-Arab over a century" (عين العرب في مئة عام), Dar Al-Aqsa, Damascus (2007); the book is a history of the town compiled for its centennial from accounts in living memory (notably from one Mohamed Abdi, who according to Hussein died in 1998 aged 118, as well as "other centenarians from the region").</ref><ref name="independent">Patrick Cockburn, [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-in-kobani-turkeys-act-of-abandonment-may-mark-an-irrevocable-breach-with-kurds-across-the-region-9780941.html Isis in Kobani: Turkey's act of abandonment may mark an 'irrevocable breach' with Kurds across the region] ''Independent'' 7 October 2014.</ref><ref name="MonitorTastekin">{{cite news|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/10/turkey-kobani-erdogan-deals-arab-card.html|title=Erdogan plays 'Arab card' in Kobani|last1=Tastekin|first1=Fehim|date=28 October 2014|publisher=Al-Monitor}}</ref><ref name="firstthings">{{cite news|url=http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2014/10/kobani-then-and-now|title=Kobani, Then and Now|last1=Movsesian|first1=Mark|date=27 October 2014|publisher=First Things}}</ref> However, this is doubted by some{{Who|date=January 2026}} who point out that company in German is “Gesellschaft”, whereas "Kompanie" (meaning company) refers solely to military units. (This not true, however, as business partnerships with more than two partners were called {{ill|Compagnie|de}} at the time, and the abbreviation ''Co.'' remains established in German.) Others{{Who|date=January 2026}} have suggested that the origin of the middle of the word {{lang|ku-Latn|Kobanî}} could come from the German "Bahn", meaning road, as the railroad was in fact named "Anatolische Eisenbahn".<ref name=":1" />
The Ottoman Turkish name of the eastern village was ''Arab Punarı'' ({{langx|ota|عرب پیناری}}, {{Langx|tr|Arap Pınar|lit=Spring of the Arabs}}),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/explained-kobane-or-ayn-al-arab-73591|title=Explained: Kobane or Ayn al-Arab? - World News|website=Hürriyet Daily News|date=28 October 2014 }}</ref> and Kobani's Arabic name, ''ʿAyn al-ʿArab'' (عين العرب), is a translation of this. The word "spring" refers to the creek that used to flow east of the village, and during the summer Arab nomads would bring their herds to the location. This village was located south of a small lake that dried up in the 1960s. The name Mürşitpinar is still used as the name for the western village and the railway station in the Turkish side.<ref>The district of Kobani comprises about 170 villages: Gérard Chaliand, ''A People Without a Country: The Kurds and Kurdistan'', 1993, p. 195. name of the station: ''Office International de Renseignements sur les Sauterelles de Damas'', 1930, p. 43.</ref>
==History==
===Ottoman period=== {{Historical populations |type = |footnote = Source:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2012/07/29/world/meast/syria-aleppo-civilians/index.html|title=200,000 civilians try to escape violence in Syrian city of Aleppo|author1=Ivan Watson |author2=Shiyar Sayed Mohamad|website=CNN|date=29 July 2012}}</ref> |2005 |54681 |2015|40000 |2016 |44821 }} Prior to World War I, the area was mainly populated by Kurdish tribes, many but not all of which were part of the Milli confederation. These tribes had progressively migrated in from the north during the 19th century, pushing back the Bedouin Arab tribes which had previously occupied the area.<ref name="wooley">{{cite book|last=Woolley|first=Sir Leonard|title=Dead towns and living men: Being pages from an antiquary's notebook|publisher=Oxford University Press|date=1920|pages=[https://archive.org/details/deadtownslivingm00wooluoft/page/178 178]–221|url=https://archive.org/details/deadtownslivingm00wooluoft}}</ref> Local Kurds living in the plains to the east of the modern town reportedly provided lodgings at their encampment for a French-led archaeological team on its way to survey the nearby ancient Assyrian site of Arslan Tashî ({{Langx|ku|Shêran}}) in the summer of 1883.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Heuzey|first=Léon|author2=Hamdy-Bey|year=1899|title=Les ruines de Arslan-Tash|journal=Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres|volume=43|issue=5|pages=617|language=fr|url=http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/crai_0065-0536_1899_num_43_5_71489}}</ref>
In 1892, there were three homesteads situated in the area.<ref> Nedal Yousef, 'Interview with Hussein Amin Hussein about [his book] ''Ayn al-Arab – One Hundred Years'' [http://www.esyria.sy/ealeppo/index.php?p=stories&category=directions&filename=200904091620011 "حسين أمين حسين"...يتحدث عن مدينة "عين العرب" في مئة عام.. (esyria.sy)] 9 April 2009. Hussein Ali Hussein, "Ayn Al-Arab over a century" (عين العرب في مئة عام), Dar Al-Aqsa, Damascus (2007); the book is a history of the town compiled for its centennial from accounts in living memory (notably from one Mohamed Abdi, who according to Hussein died in 1998 aged 118, as well as "other centenarians from the region").</ref> During the construction of the Baghdad Railway (launched by the Ottoman Empire to connect Baghdad with Berlin), Kurdish raiders from the Busrawi and Shahin Bey clans—rivals who lived south and east of today's Kobani - reportedly harassed work crews attempting to mine basalt from the nearby hills, partially because the German companies responsible for its construction were lax in providing payment and compensation to local landowners.<ref name="wooley"/> German engineers staying in the area from 1912 to 1913 described ''Arab Punar'' as a "small Kurdish village around {{convert|35|km|0|abbr=on}} east of the Euphrates" comprising a small cluster of square mud-brick huts, many with domed roofs; the local chief's hut was notable among these in its incorporation of European-style doors and windows and its concrete flooring. The area was apparently also known for its swarms of biting sand-flies.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Boyes|first=William|date=March 1916|title=Persönliche Erinnerungen vom Bau der Bagdadbahn|journal=The Technologist: Mitteilungen des deutsch-amerikanischen Techniker-Verbandes|volume=21|issue=3|pages=80–86|language=de}}</ref>
The newly built town began to form south of a simple train station built in 1912 along the railway by workers from the nearby town of Suruç.<ref name="firstthings"/> The train station was part of the Baghdad Railway project launched by the Ottoman government to connect Baghdad with Berlin.<ref name="MonitorTastekin"/> Refugees fleeing the Armenian genocide in the Ottoman Empire settled in the newly built town around 1915, and were soon joined by more Kurds from nearby areas.<ref name=MonitorTastekin/><ref name=firstthings />
thumb|Maunsell's ethnographical map of northern Syria in 1910. Location of Ayn al-Arab (Arab punar) marked on top center of map
===French Mandate=== Some of the Kurds who settled in Kobani were originally from the Kurdish regions in Turkey. Some fled persecution following the Kurdish-led Sheikh Said rebellion in 1925.<ref name=MonitorTastekin/> After the demarcation of the border with Turkey along the railway line in 1921, the northern part of Ayn al-Arab was left on the Turkish side. This small settlement is incorporated in the Suruç district and still has a little railway station and a border crossing gate. By the middle of the 20th century, there were three Armenian churches and two schools in the town, but many Armenians emigrated to the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic in the 1960s while others moved to bigger cities, including Aleppo and Beirut, as well as cities in the US and other countries.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/politics/2013/10/syria-kurd-pyd-saleh-muslim-secession.html|title=Kurdish Leader Denies Syrian Kurds Seek Secession|last=Cheterian|first=Vikin|others=Translated by Sami-Joe Abboud|date=2 October 2013|publisher=Al Monitor|access-date=28 April 2014}} Originally published in Arabic by Al-Hayat as [http://alhayat.com/Details/556556 أكراد سورية لا يريدون الانفصال نحارب النظام و"النصرة" ونخشى مجازر] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006152427/http://alhayat.com/Details/556556 |date=6 October 2014 }} on 28 September 2013.</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Korucu|first1=Serdar|title=Bir Ermeni çocuğun Kobani hatıraları...|url=http://www.radikal.com.tr/turkiye/bir_ermeni_cocugun_kobani_hatiralari-1220945|agency=Radikal|date=24 October 2014|language=tr}}</ref> The town was also home to a small Syriac Orthodox community, but their numbers dwindled and the town's only Syriac Orthodox church was demolished in the early 1960s.<ref name="Syriacs">{{cite web | url=http://www.qenshrin.com/details.php?id=325 | script-title=ar:السريان ..... عين العرب وتل أبيض | publisher=qenshrin.com | language=ar | date=18 October 2005 | access-date=11 December 2014}}</ref>
The city's infrastructural layout was largely planned and constructed by French authorities during the Mandatory period, and a number of French-built buildings were still standing and in use until recently.<ref name="etana"/> During this period, the city of Suruç served as the regional center of Kobani. The area was marked by several border crossings with Turkey, unsanctioned by either the Turkish or French Mandatory governments. The crossings became a source of numerous Turkish complaints and led to the establishment of a French intelligence office in Kobani to monitor border activity.<ref name=MonitorTastekin/> Throughout the 20th century, the border remained officially closed even as the neighbouring towns of Tell Abyad and Jarablus—both of which had smaller Kurdish populations—were allowed to have commercial border crossings, a situation which economically marginalised Kobani for many years.<ref>{{cite book|last=Yildiz|first=Kerim|title=The Kurds in Syria: The Forgotten People|url=https://archive.org/details/kurdssyriaforgot00yild|url-access=limited|publisher=Pluto Press|location=London|date=2005|pages=[https://archive.org/details/kurdssyriaforgot00yild/page/n29 25]|isbn=0745324991}}</ref> However, there was limited traffic at the Kobani-Mürşitpinar gate and passengers from Kobani often crossed through it to travel by train to Aleppo. By 2011, as a result of the Syrian Civil War, traffic through this gate increased. Wounded and sick people could cross to the Turkish side while trucks carrying goods crossed into Kobani from Mürşitpınar.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sınır Kapıları Listesi HUDUT KAPILARI NEVİLERİN GÖRE-AÇIKLAMALI SINIR ÜLKELERİ |url=http://isay.icisleri.gov.tr/ortak_icerik/syb/S%C4%B1n%C4%B1r%20Kap%C4%B1lar%C4%B1%20Listesi/142%20HUDUT%20KAPILARI%20NEV%C4%B0LER%C4%B0NE%20G%C3%96RE-A%C3%87IKLAMALI%20VE%20SINIR%20%C3%9CLKELER%C4%B0.pdf |publisher=Turkish Interior Ministry |access-date=3 November 2014 |pages=3 |language=tr |date=26 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130920014453/http://isay.icisleri.gov.tr/ortak_icerik/syb/S%C4%B1n%C4%B1r%20Kap%C4%B1lar%C4%B1%20Listesi/142%20HUDUT%20KAPILARI%20NEV%C4%B0LER%C4%B0NE%20G%C3%96RE-A%C3%87IKLAMALI%20VE%20SINIR%20%C3%9CLKELER%C4%B0.pdf |archive-date=20 September 2013 }}</ref>
===Syria pre-autonomy=== [[File:Kobane nahiyah.svg|thumb|250px|Prior to the Syrian Civil War, ''Kobani'' was the administrative center of Nahiya Ayn al-Arab and Ayn al-Arab District.|alt=]]When Syria gained independence from France in 1946, the intelligence building{{Which|date=April 2018}} served as the political office of the Kobani area's highest-ranking local administrator. Kobani started to develop as a city in the 1950s when it was further separated from Suruç as a result of the Turkish government mining of the border area.
===Syrian Civil War=== ==== Siege by ISIL ==== {{Main|Rojava–Islamist conflict|Siege of Kobanî}} <!--ISIL is the agreed name on Wikipedia per talk at Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant--> The People's Protection Units (YPG) took control of Kobani on 19 July 2012.<ref name=liberated>{{cite news|title=More Kurdish Cities Liberated As Syrian Army Withdraws from Area|url=http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurds/4978.html|newspaper=Rudaw|date=20 July 2012}}</ref> The Syrian authorities in Kobani and other Kurdish towns evacuated the government offices and centers without any fighting taking place between the Syrian and Kurdish forces. Since July 2012, Kobani has been under Kurdish control. The YPG and Kurdish politicians anticipated autonomy for the area, which they consider part of Rojava.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eurasiareview.com/03082012-natos-secret-kurdish-war-turkey-prepares-iraq-style-attacks-inside-syria-oped/|title=NATO's Secret Kurdish War: Turkey Prepares Iraq-Style Attacks Inside Syria – OpEd – Eurasia Review|date=3 August 2012|access-date=29 October 2014}}</ref> After similar less intense events earlier in 2014, on 2 July the town and surrounding villages came under a massive attack from fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.<ref name="isisattacks">{{cite news|title=What's happening in Kobane? |url=http://kurdishquestion.com/kurdistan/west-kurdistan/what-s-happening-in-kobane.html |newspaper=Kurdish Question |date=6 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150107081700/http://kurdishquestion.com/kurdistan/west-kurdistan/what-s-happening-in-kobane.html |archive-date= 7 January 2015 }}</ref> On 16 September, ISIL resumed its siege of Kobani with a full-scale assault from the west and the south of the city.
thumb|Kobani during the bombardment of ISIL targets by US-led forces. Photo taken from Turkish-Syrian border at Suruç, Turkey showing refugee camp in the middle distance (October 2014) Kobani Canton had been under attack by ISIL militants for several months. In September 2014, militants occupied most of the Kobani region, seizing more than 100 Kurdish villages.<ref name="theguardian.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/22/isis-onslaught-kurds-syria-disaster-turkey-refugees|title=Isis onslaught against Kurds in Syria brings 'man-made disaster' into Turkey|work=The Guardian|date=22 September 2014|access-date=29 October 2014}}</ref><ref name="world.einnews.com">{{cite web|url=http://world.einnews.com/article/224533266/r3F_mOq1ZvLUZW3e|title=ISIL seizes 21 Kurdish villages in northern Syria, close in on Kobanî – World News Report|author=IPD Group|access-date=29 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180713165248/http://world.einnews.com/article/224533266/r3F_mOq1ZvLUZW3e|archive-date=13 July 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> As a consequence of the ISIL occupation, up to 200,000 Kurdish refugees fled from Kobani Canton to Turkey.<ref name="theguardian.com"/> Turkish authorities did not allow the refugees to enter with any vehicles or livestock that they had.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/middleeast/2014/10/17/hundreds-wait-for-kobani-fighting-to-end-risking-lives-at-border/|title=Hundreds Wait for Kobani Fighting to End, Risking Lives at Border|author=Ayla Albayrak|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=17 October 2014|access-date=29 October 2014}}</ref> thumb|Paris Kurds rally in support of Kobani on 1 November 2014 In captured villages, militants committed massacres and kidnapped women.<ref name="world.einnews.com"/> IS militants, however, were not able to occupy all of Kobani itself, as the YPG and YPJ forces managed to defend a part of Kobani and later several nearby settlements. After weeks of isolation, which resulted from Turkey's preventing arms and fighters from entering the town (which in turn was due to the general hostility of the Turkish establishment towards Kurds with any links to the PKK), the US-led coalition began to target ISIL with a larger number of airstrikes. From September 2014 through January 2015, hundreds of airstrikes struck ISIL fighters and leveled most of the administrative buildings and houses in the city center, helping to stop the ISIL advance. On 20 October there were reports that Turkey, under significant US pressure, would allow Kurdish fighters from Iraqi Kurdistan to cross into Kobani.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/isis-in-kobani-us-loses-patience-with-turkey-and-resupplies-kurdish-fighters-by-plane--then-ankara-allows-reinforcements-through-9807183.html|title=Turkey to Allow Reinforcements|work=The Independent|date=21 October 2014|access-date=29 October 2014}}</ref> About 150 Kurdish troops were admitted on 29 October, which then began to turn the tide of the siege in favor of the Kurds. The YPG forced ISIL to retreat from Kobani on 26 January 2015,<ref name="driveIslamic"/> thus lifting the siege.<ref name="Kobanirecaptured">{{Cite web|url=https://www.syriahr.com/en/10788/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016201939/http://www.syriahr.com/en/2015/01/ypg-retakes-the-entire-city-of-ayn-al-arab-kobani-after-112-days-of-clashes-with-is-militants-2/|title=YPG retakes the entire city of Ayn al- Arab "Kobani" after 112 days of clashes with IS militants • The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights|date=26 January 2015|archive-date=16 October 2015}}</ref> Following the victory the city received the nickname "Kurdish Stalingrad".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kobanî (Kobanê / Ayn al-Arab) |url=https://mesopotamia.coop/cities/kobani/ |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=Co-operation in Mesopotamia |language=en-GB}}</ref>
===== Reaction ===== The humanitarian response to the people from Kobani who were displaced to Suruc, Turkey, was highly polarized, with actors associated with the Turkish state on the one hand, and the pro-Kurdish movement on the other.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/25704400 |title= Mapping action and identity in the Kobani crisis response |journal= Kurdish Studies |volume=4 |issue=1 |year=2016 |access-date=2016-11-11|last1= McGee |first1= Thomas |pages= 51–77 |doi= 10.33182/ks.v4i1.406 }}</ref> In September 2014, Defend International launched a worldwide campaign aimed at, among other things, raising awareness about Kobani and the brutal attacks its residents were subjected to, and building connections between potential partners and communities whose work is relevant to the campaign, including individuals, groups, communities, and NGOs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://defendinternational.org/save-the-yazidis-the-world-has-to-act-now/ |title=Save The Yazidis: The World Has To Act Now |access-date=2014-09-12 |archive-date=8 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208072204/http://defendinternational.org/save-the-yazidis-the-world-has-to-act-now/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://janeadamsart.wordpress.com/about/|title= Artist Jane Adams invited to join DI campaign |date= 4 June 2012 |access-date=2015-09-29}}</ref>
In October 2014, Widad Akrawi, President of Defend International, dedicated her 2014 International Pfeffer Peace Award to, among others, all residents of Kobane because, she said, facts on the ground demonstrate that these peaceful people are not safe in their enclaves, partly because of their ethnic origin and/or religion, and they are therefore in urgent need for immediate attention from the global community.<ref name="Dr Akrawi and Pfeffer Peace Prize">{{cite web|url= http://widad.org/widadwp/2014-international-pfeffer-peace-prize |title= Dr Widad Akrawi awarded International Pfeffer Peace Prize|access-date=20 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://forusa.org/blogs/linda-kelly/dr-widad-akrawi-receives-pfeffer-peace-award/13064 |title=Dr. Widad Akrawi Receives the Pfeffer Peace Award |access-date=30 September 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151019110517/http://forusa.org/blogs/linda-kelly/dr-widad-akrawi-receives-pfeffer-peace-award/13064 |archive-date=19 October 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://defendinternational.org/rojnews-interviewed-dr-widad-akrawi/|title=Dr Akrawi Dedicated Peace Award to Yezidis, Christians and Kobane|access-date=24 September 2015|archive-date=25 July 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150725175942/http://defendinternational.org/rojnews-interviewed-dr-widad-akrawi/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.avrupahalkinsesi.com/mobil/news.php?id=9813 |title= Dr. Widad Akrawi Barış ödülünü Kobanê ve Şengal'e adadı |access-date= 20 October 2014 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141111182043/http://www.avrupahalkinsesi.com/mobil/news.php?id=9813 |archive-date= 11 November 2014 |df= dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.rewanbej.com/xelata-astiye-peskesi-kobane-u-sengale-hat-kirin.html |title= Peace award dedicated to Kobanî and Şengal |access-date= 20 October 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20141020132406/http://www.rewanbej.com/xelata-astiye-peskesi-kobane-u-sengale-hat-kirin.html |archive-date= 20 October 2014 |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://ku.firatnews.com/news/jin-u-jiyan/xelata-astiye-diyari-kobane-hat-kirin.htm |title= Dr. Widad Akrawi Xelata Aştiyê pêşkêşî Kobanê û Şengalê hat kirin |access-date= 20 October 2014 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://archive.today/20141020105453/http://ku.firatnews.com/news/jin-u-jiyan/xelata-astiye-diyari-kobane-hat-kirin.htm |archive-date= 20 October 2014 |df= dmy-all }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= http://ku.firatnews.com/news/jin-u-jiyan/xelata-astiye-diyari-kobane-hat-kirin.htm |title= Xelata Aştiyê diyarî Kobanê hat kirin |access-date= 20 October 2014 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://archive.today/20141020105453/http://ku.firatnews.com/news/jin-u-jiyan/xelata-astiye-diyari-kobane-hat-kirin.htm |archive-date= 20 October 2014 |df= dmy-all }}</ref> She asked the international community to make sure that the victims are not forgotten; they should be rescued, protected, fully assisted and compensated fairly.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://defendinternational.org/save-the-yazidis-the-world-has-to-act-now/ |title=Save The Yazidis: The World Has To Act Now |access-date=2015-09-29 |archive-date=8 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208072204/http://defendinternational.org/save-the-yazidis-the-world-has-to-act-now/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
On 4 November 2014, Akrawi said that "a massacre can be avoided, if there is a well-organized and well-defined plan on how to deal with IS – a plan that sets out the strategic and tactical activities to be undertaken at the international, regional and local levels," adding that journalists, humanitarian- and human rights organizations are not allowed to pass through Turkish checkpoints near the border.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://widad.org/widadwp/rojnews-interview-2014 |title=Dr Widad Akrawi Interviewed at RojNews: Do you see a new Kurdish massacre looming in Kobane? |access-date=2015-10-09 |archive-date=7 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210307220403/https://web.archive.org/web/20151028214040/http://widad.org/widadwp/rojnews-interview-2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
===== June 2015 massacre ===== {{Main|Kobanî massacre}}
{{multiple image | border = thumb | perrow = 1/2/2 | total_width = 240 | image1 = Kobanê Cemetery 2017 (7).jpg | alt1 = | image2 = Kobanê Cemetery 2017 (4).jpg | alt2 = | image3 = Kobanê Cemetery 2017 (2).jpg | alt3 = | | align = right | direction = | footer = Martyrs' Cemetery, Kobanî | caption1 = | caption2 = }} On 25 June 2015, fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant detonated three car bombs in Kobani, close to the Turkish border crossing and launched a surprise assault on the town.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/syrian-arab-republic/islamic-state-attack-puts-kobani-reconstruction-risk |title=Islamic State attack puts Kobani reconstruction at risk |date=26 June 2015 |access-date=2 November 2023 |work=Relief Web}}</ref> At least 220 Kurdish civilians were massacred in mass killings by ISIL fighters<ref>{{cite web|title=Syrian Kurds say thwart big Islamic State attack on border town|url=https://news.yahoo.com/syrian-kurds-beat-back-islamic-state-attack-border-082435541.html|website=Reuters, Yahoo News|date=July 2015 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=HRW: ISIS murdered 233 civilians in Kobanê since June|url=http://www.diclehaber.com/en/news/content/view/463952?from=1923065108|website=Dicle News Agency|access-date=3 July 2015|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304055000/http://www.diclehaber.com/en/news/content/view/463952?from=1923065108|url-status=dead}}</ref> or were killed by the group's rockets. Many more were wounded by the attack, making it one of the worst massacres carried out by ISIL in Syria. In another report Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and spokesman for the Kurdish People's Protection Units said that more than 200 Kurdish civilians were massacred. Women and children were among the bodies found inside houses and on the streets of Kobani and its surrounding villages. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that ISIL fired at anything that moved.<ref>{{cite news|title=Syria crisis: Islamic State 'kills 120 civilians' in Kobane|work=BBC News|date=26 June 2015|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33285699}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Islamic State kills at least 145 civilians in Syria's Kobani|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-idUSKBN0P60UY20150626|website=Reuters|date=26 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=ISIS 'kills at least 146 civilians' in Kobane, activists say|url=https://news.yahoo.com/isis-kills-least-146-civilians-kobane-activists-193556357.html|website=Yahoo News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Mass Killings by ISIL Fighters in Syrian Kurdish Town|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/27/world/middleeast/mass-killings-by-isis-fighters-in-syrian-kurdish-town.html?ref=middleeast&_r=0|website=The New York Times|date = 27 June 2015|last1 = Hubbard|first1 = Ben}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Isis in Kobani: Why we ignore the worst of the massacres|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/isis-in-kobani-why-we-ignore-the-worst-of-the-massacres-10350268.html|website=The Independent|date=27 June 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Syria Islamic State: Kurds 'claim control over Kobane'|work=BBC News|date=27 June 2015|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33299306}}</ref> Islamic State also committed a massacre in the village of Barkh Butan, about 20 kilometers south of Kobani, executing at least 23 Syrian Kurds, among them women and children.<ref>{{cite web|title=IS 'executes 23 Kurds' in village near Syria's Kobane|url=https://news.yahoo.com/executes-20-kurds-village-near-syrias-kobane-092329781.html|website=Yahoo News}}</ref> Kurdish forces and the Syrian government claimed the vehicles had entered the city from across the border, an action denied by Turkey.<ref name="BBC">{{cite news|title=Syria crisis: IS re-enters Kurdish-held city of Kobane|work=BBC News|date=25 June 2015|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-33266399|access-date=25 June 2015}}</ref>
==== Reconstruction and development ==== After the ISIL siege was broken in early 2015, the Kobane Reconstruction Board asked for international assistance.<ref>{{cite web|title=News|website=Help Kobane|url=http://helpkobane.com/blog/category/news/|access-date=17 May 2015|archive-date=12 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112054648/http://helpkobane.com/blog/category/news/|url-status=dead}}{{full citation needed|date=January 2016}}</ref> According to a spokesman for the Syrian Kurds who control the town, Kobani had been 70% destroyed.<ref name=CNN>{{cite news|title=Syrian town tries to rise from ashes after ISIS defeat|first=Nick|last=Paton Walsh|date=5 May 2015|publisher=CNN|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/05/middleeast/syria-kobani-rising-from-ashes/index.html}}</ref> There have been several attempts to support Kobani, especially from the Kurdish communities in Turkey and Iraq. Assistance was also offered by several European organizations. As of May 2015, Turkey has kept the border closed but allowed some materials to reach the city. The international community, including the US, has not shown interest in rebuilding the town, nor have they pressured Turkey on the matter.<ref name="Fréderike Geerdink, Beacon Reader">{{cite web|title=Closed Turkish border endangers present and future of Kobani|first=Fréderike|last=Geerdink|work=Beacon|date=9 May 2015|url=https://www.beaconreader.com/frederike-geerdink/closed-turkish-border-endangers-present-and-future-of-kobani|access-date=12 May 2015|archive-date=23 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150523131813/https://www.beaconreader.com/frederike-geerdink/closed-turkish-border-endangers-present-and-future-of-kobani|url-status=dead}}</ref> By May 2015 more than 50,000 people had returned to the destroyed town. In May the Kobani authorities, with the help of the municipality of Diyarbakır, managed to restore the water pump and supply for the urban area after 8 months without running water, repairing the pipelines and cleaning the main water tank.<ref name="Peter Clifford Online">{{cite web|title=Kobane / Cizire Update 90: Kurdish Advance in Cizire Continues Taking 20+ Villages from Islamic State in 48 Hours|date=15 May 2015|last1=Clifford|first1=Peter|url=http://www.petercliffordonline.com/syria-iraq-news-5/|access-date=12 May 2015}}</ref> By May 2016, despite the challenges of the blockade by Turkey, reconstruction and return of inhabitants was well on the way.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2016/05/syria-civil-war-beginnings-kobane-160502084404496.html|title=Syria civil war: New beginnings in Kobane|publisher=Al Jazeera|date=2016-05-13|access-date=2016-05-13}}</ref>
In September 2016, Kurdish Red Crescent opened a hospital in the city under the name of "Kobani Hospital", their first hospital in Kobani Canton, after several international organizations like UNICEF and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) had been sending them special medical equipment.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.hawarnews.com/krc-opens-the-first-hospital-in-kobani/|title=KRC opens the first hospital in Kobani|publisher=Hawar News Agency|date=2016-09-24|access-date=2016-09-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303144912/http://en.hawarnews.com/krc-opens-the-first-hospital-in-kobani/|archive-date=3 March 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref> It was established in a hospital formerly owned by Dr. Ezzat Afandi, an Austrian citizen.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kurier.at/politik/ausland/syrien-oesterreicher-errichtet-wiener-spital-in-kobane/105.378.192|title=Das "Wiener Spital" in Kobane|publisher=Kurier|date=2014-12-31|access-date=2014-12-31}}</ref>
In an October 2016 report from the city of Kobani, U.S. academic Si Sheppard observed: "Since the siege of Kobani ended, reconstruction has barely begun to compensate for the havoc wrought on the city by both ISIS artillery and coalition airstrikes (...). Herculean efforts have cleared the streets, but water and power have yet to be restored. Although commerce is trickling back to life (...), more than half of the residential structures still standing are little more than blown out concrete shells. Yet the spirit of the people endures: Some now use defused ISIS rounds as ashtrays and flower pots."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/10/kurds-rojava-syria-isis-iraq-assad/505037/|title=What the Syrian Kurds Have Wrought. The radical, unlikely, democratic experiment in northern Syria|author=Si Sheppard|work=The Atlantic|date=2016-10-25|access-date=2016-10-25}}</ref>
By 2019, atrocities by ISIL have driven many families of Kobani to convert to Christianity, while others chose to become atheists and agnostics.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-islamic-state-christians-idUSKCN1RS19N|title=Christianity grows in Syrian town once besieged by Islamic State|last=Davidson|first=John|work=Reuters|date=2019-04-16|location=Kobanî|access-date=2019-10-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190421105125/https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-syria-islamic-state-christians/christianity-grows-in-syrian-town-once-besieged-by-islamic-state-idUKKCN1RS19F?rpc=401&|archive-date=2019-04-21}}</ref>
Over the years various projects were undertaken by the Autonomous Administration's Economic Authority and the Kongreya Star to revitalize life, economic development and woman's empowerment in the city. These projects include Vîna Jin (<small>lit.</small> Women's Will), which offers job opportunities for illiterate women, Khairat Al-Furat Factory, which manufactures jam, molasses, tomatoes, peppers and spices, the Young Women's Agriculture Co-op and many more sewing workshops, bakeries, beauty and hair salons.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fattah Issa, Jihad Nabo |date=4 July 2019 |title="Vina Jin", a new economic project to empower women of Kobani - North press agency |url=https://npasyria.com/en/37078/ |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=North Press Agency |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mustafa |first=Victor |date=11 July 2020 |title=Kurdish-led authorities establish foodstuff factory in Syria's Kobani after Ba'ath regime's decades-long ban |url=https://npasyria.com/en/37198/ |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=North Press Agency |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1 November 2020 |title=Economic Autonomy Ensured in Kobanê through Young Peoples' Co-operatives |url=https://mesopotamia.coop/economic-autonomy-ensured-in-kobane-through-young-peoples-cooperatives/ |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=Co-operation in Mesopotamia (Original Nûçe Ciwan) |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=ABDİ |first=NORŞÎN |date=21 August 2023 |title=Kongra Star provides employment opportunity to women |url=https://jinhaagency.com/en/labor-economy/kongra-star-provides-employment-opportunity-to-women-33728 |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=JINHAGENCY News |language=en}}</ref>
==== Entry of Syrian and Russian forces ==== thumb|Russian military police in Kobani on 23 October 2019 Following the start of the 2019 Turkish offensive into north-eastern Syria, which put the city's administration under existential threat, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reached a deal with the Ba'athist Syrian government in which the latter would deploy limited parts of the Syrian Army, backed by Russian Military Police, to the town to prevent it from coming under Turkish attack. Pro-government forces entered the town by mid October 2019 and Syrian State Media circulated images of Syrian troops raising the Syrian flag in the town. Following the acceptance of the Second Northern Syria Buffer Zone Agreement, Kurdish military forces were mandated to withdraw from the town. Nevertheless, the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria was reported to still be in ''de facto'' civil control of the town, while Syrian and Russian forces took up positions along the border areas and began military patrols along the city's streets.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://thedefensepost.com/2019/10/13/syria-government-russia-kobani-manbij-sdf/|title=Syrian government forces set to enter Kobani and Manbij after SDF deal|date=2019-10-13|website=The Defense Post|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-28}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/on-syrias-border-a-snapshot-of-kurdish-towns-2018-calm-ahead-of-current-storm/|title=On Syria's border, a snapshot of Kurdish town's 2018 calm ahead of current storm|last=Genesove|first=Ziv|website=The Times of Israel|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-28 |issn=0040-7909}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.france24.com/en/20191024-russian-police-deploy-in-syria-s-kobani-trump-calls-ceasefire-permanent|title=Russian military police deploy in Syria's Kobani as part of deal with Turkey|date=2019-10-23|website=France 24|language=en|access-date=2019-10-28}}</ref>
Turkish attacks on the region prompted the construction of defensive fortifications like tunnel networks and metal sheeting, which covers popular shopping streets from drone attacks. A report by ''The Guardian'' revealed that the tunnels are on average 30 meters deep and equipped with surveillance cameras, air vents and plasma screens.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Christou |first=William |date=21 February 2025 |title="We are part of Syria": Kurdish-led SDF fights for place in post-Assad future |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/feb/21/drones-are-above-our-heads-kurdish-led-sdf-fights-for-survival-in-syria |access-date=2025-03-09 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=}}</ref>
On 16 April 2021, an airstrike by the Turkish Air Force targeted the house where Abdullah Öcalan had lived during his stay in the city in 1979. The strike only caused material damage.<ref>{{cite news |title=بعد أكثر من 40 سنة.. طائرة تركية تستهدف منزل مكث فيه عبدالله أوجلان أول قائد لحزب العمال الكردستاني في منطقة عين العرب (كوباني) |url=https://www.syriahr.com/%d8%a8%d8%b9%d8%af-%d8%a3%d9%83%d8%ab%d8%b1-%d9%85%d9%86-40-%d8%b3%d9%86%d8%a9-%d8%b7%d8%a7%d8%a6%d8%b1%d8%a9-%d8%aa%d8%b1%d9%83%d9%8a%d8%a9-%d8%aa%d8%b3%d8%aa%d9%87%d8%af%d9%81-%d9%85%d9%86%d8%b2/433437/ |access-date=16 April 2021 |publisher=SOHR |date=16 April 2021}}</ref>
==== Post-Assad era ==== In December 2024, after the fall of the Assad regime and the 2024 Manbij offensive, Turkish-backed SNA fighters launched an offensive on Kobani with the intent of capturing the city.<ref>{{cite news |title=Turkish invasion into Syria 'could be imminent,' US officials fear - report |url=https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-833777 |work=The Jerusalem Post |date=17 December 2024}}</ref> The attack was briefly paused by a US-brokered ceasefire, which ultimately collapsed and was later countered by the SDF's 2024 East Aleppo Offensive that kept the SNA west of the Euphrates as of March 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=17 December 2024 |title=Truce Extended At Syria Flashpoint Between Kurds, Pro-Turkish Fighters: US |url=https://www.barrons.com/news/us-says-truce-extended-at-syria-flashpoint-between-kurds-pro-turkish-fighters-875d4ccf |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=Barron's |language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kelly Campa, Andie Parry, Alexandra Braverman, Ria Reddy, Katherine Wells, Carolyn Moorman, Siddhant Kishore, Ben Rezaei and Brian Carter |first= |date=7 March 2025 |title=Iran Update, March 7, 2025 |url=https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-march-7-2025 |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=Institute for the Study of War |language=en}}</ref>
In February 2026, Syrian Ministry of Interior began integrating Kobani's Asayish under a move tied to its January 2026 agreement with the SDF.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2026-02-27 |title=Syria Begins Integrating Kobani's Asayish Forces into Interior Ministry as Siege and Humanitarian Crisis Persist |url=https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/896696/slug |access-date=2026-03-01 |website=Kurdistan24 |language=en}}</ref> The Internal Security Command in Aleppo Governorate took control of the Internal Security Directorate building in Kobani, and began operations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Syrian Gov't Takes Military Site From Kurds in Kobani |url=https://english.aawsat.com/node/5245650 |access-date=2026-03-01 |website=Asharq Al Awsat |language=en}}</ref> On 9 April 2026, Aleppo Governorate governor Azzam al-Gharib appointed Almaz Rumi as mayor of Kobani in the context of the January integration agreement.<ref name="Hawar_Almaz_Rumi_mayor_Kobani">{{cite Q|Q139076798|url-status=live}}</ref>
== Geography == === Climate === Kobani has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification ''Csa''). {{Weather box |width = auto |location = Kobanî |metric first = Y |single line = Y |Jan high C = 7.7 |Feb high C = 9.7 |Mar high C = 14.6 |Apr high C = 22.3 |May high C = 26.8 |Jun high C = 32.5 |Jul high C = 36.4 |Aug high C = 36.1 |Sep high C = 31.7 |Oct high C = 24.8 |Nov high C = 16.4 |Dec high C = 9.9 |Jan low C = -1.1 |Feb low C = 0.8 |Mar low C = 2.8 |Apr low C = 6.5 |May low C = 11.2 |Jun low C = 16.0 |Jul low C = 19.4 |Aug low C = 18.9 |Sep low C = 14.3 |Oct low C = 9.2 |Nov low C = 4.1 |Dec low C = 0.7 |Jan precipitation mm = 78 |Feb precipitation mm = 58 |Mar precipitation mm = 52 |Apr precipitation mm = 39 |May precipitation mm = 25 |Jun precipitation mm = 3 |Jul precipitation mm = 0 |Aug precipitation mm = 0 |Sep precipitation mm = 2 |Oct precipitation mm = 23 |Nov precipitation mm = 37 |Dec precipitation mm = 72 |year precipitation mm= |Jan snow days = 2.5 |Feb snow days = 1.5 |Mar snow days = 0 |Apr snow days = 0 |May snow days = 0 |Jun snow days = 0 |Jul snow days = 0 |Aug snow days = 0 |Sep snow days = 0 |Oct snow days = 0 |Nov snow days = 0 |Dec snow days = 2 |Jan rain days= 11 |Feb rain days= 7 |Mar rain days= 5 |Apr rain days= 5 |May rain days= 4 |Jun rain days= 2 |Jul rain days= 0 |Aug rain days= 0 |Sep rain days= 2 |Oct rain days= 4 |Nov rain days= 6 |Dec rain days= 10 |Jan humidity = 75 |Feb humidity = 67 |Mar humidity = 60 |Apr humidity = 56 |May humidity = 42 |Jun humidity = 40 |Jul humidity = 34 |Aug humidity = 34 |Sep humidity = 44 |Oct humidity = 47 |Nov humidity = 55 |Dec humidity = 75 |source = <ref>Weather Online, Weather Base, BBC Weather and My Weather 2, accessed 10 November 2012</ref> }}
== Media == The documentary "Radio Kobani" won the Award for Best Documentary at the ''International Documentary Festival – Amsterdam (IDFA)'' in November 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2016/11/kobani-film-wins-best-dutch-documentary-award/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161127114426/http://aranews.net/2016/11/kobani-film-wins-best-dutch-documentary-award/|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 November 2016|title=Kobani film wins best Dutch documentary award|publisher=ARA News|date=25 November 2016}}</ref>
In 2015, the Italian author Zerocalcare published a comics-illustrated book called "Kobane Calling" where he reported his experience among the defenders of the Rojava region.
The 2022 fiction film Kobane directed by Özmel Yasar, narrates the 2015 siege of the city of Kobane, inspired for the lead character on the actual female's commander Zehra Penaber <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16591574/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1|title=Kobane|publisher=IMDB|date=23 March 2023}}</ref>
== Notable people == * Alan Kurdi: a two-year-old whose image made global headlines after he drowned on 2 September 2015 in the Mediterranean Sea. * Jan Dost is a Syrian Kurdish poet, writer and translator. * Abu Layla, commander of the Free Syrian Army and the SDF. * Mazloum Abdi (Farhad Abdi Shaheen): commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces. * Salih Muslim: a co-founder of the Democratic Union Party (PYD).
== Notable sights ==
* Arin Mirkan Statue<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kobane|first=Petra Ramsauer|title=Kobane wartet auf einen Angriff der Türkei|url=https://nzzas.nzz.ch/international/kobane-wartet-auf-einen-angriff-der-tuerkei-ld.1501110|access-date=2020-07-11|website=NZZ am Sonntag|language=de}}</ref> * Clock Tower<ref>{{Cite web|title=New Kobane clock tower symbol of Kurdish resistance against ISIS|url=https://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/100720203|access-date=2020-07-11|website=www.rudaw.net}}</ref>
== International relations == In 2015, Rome in Italy became a partner city of Kobani.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kurdishquestion.com/oldsite/index.php/kurdistan/west-kurdistan/rome-declares-kobane-sister-city.html|title=Rome Declares Kobane 'Sister City'|publisher=Kurdishquestion|date=5 April 2015|access-date=2016-08-19|archive-url=https://archive.today/20161213100544/http://kurdishquestion.com/oldsite/index.php/kurdistan/west-kurdistan/rome-declares-kobane-sister-city.html|archive-date=13 December 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.quotidiano.net/esteri/roma-gemella-kobane-1.882054|title=Roma si gemella con Kobane: "Simbolo di resistenza" - QuotidianoNet|last=QuotidianoNet|date=2015-04-23|newspaper=QuotidianoNet|access-date=2017-02-15|language=it}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.coreonline.it/web/glocal/roma-abbraccia-kobane/|title=Roma abbraccia Kobane - Core|date=2015-04-24|newspaper=Core|access-date=2017-02-15|language=it}}{{Dead link|date=March 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> Also in 2015, the Italian cities of Naples<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.napolitoday.it/cronaca/napoli-gemellaggio-kobane-solidarieta.html|title=Napoli in gemellaggio con Kobane: "Vicini a chi lotta per la pace e la libertà"|newspaper=NapoliToday|access-date=2017-02-15|language=it}}</ref> and Ancona<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.anconatoday.it/politica/mozione-gemellaggio-kobane-ancona-fabriano.html|title=Gemellaggio con Kobane, città simbolo della resistenza contro l'Isis: Sel deposita mozione|newspaper=AnconaToday|access-date=2017-02-15|language=it}}</ref> approved the preparation of twinning with Kobani.
==See also== * Ayn al-Arab Subdistrict * Ayn al-Arab District
==References== === Notes === {{Notelist}}
=== Citations === {{Reflist|30em}}
=== Works cited === * {{cite book |last = Abboud |first = Samer N. |title= Syria: Hot Spots in Global Politics |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=RnxoDwAAQBAJ |year = 2018 |publisher= Polity |location= Cambridge |isbn= 978-1-509-52241-5 }}
==Further reading== * {{cite book |title=The Daughters of Kobani: A Story of Rebellion, Courage, and Justice |year=2021 |author=Gayle Tzemach Lemmon |publisher=Penguin Press |isbn=978-0525560685}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} * {{IMDb title|qid=Q125558515|title=Radio Kobani|description=(2016 documentary)}} * [http://www.kobani.net Recommendations for reconstructing Kobani on www.kobani.net]
{{Aleppo Governorate|ayn}} {{Cities of Syria}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kobani}} Category:Kobani Category:Euphrates Region Category:Populated places established in 1915 Category:Populated places in Ayn al-Arab District Category:Towns in Aleppo Governorate