Euphrates Region

{{Infobox settlement | name = Euphrates Region | native_name = {{vunblist|{{native name|ku-Latn|Herêma Firatê}}| {{native name|ar|إقليم الفرات}}|{{native name|syc|ܦܢܝܬܐ ܕܦܪܬ}}}} | native_name_lang = ku | settlement_type = ''De facto'' region of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria | image_skyline = | image_caption = | image_flag = | image_seal = | image_shield = | shield_size = | image_blank_emblem = Seal of Euphrates Region DAA.svg | blank_emblem_type = Seal | blank_emblem_size = | nickname = | motto = | image_map = Regions of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.png | map_caption = Regions of DAANES, with the Euphrates Region in blue | pushpin_map = | pushpin_label = | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_alt = | pushpin_map_caption = | parts_type = | parts_style = para | coordinates_footnotes = | subdivision_type = | subdivision_name = Syria | subdivision_type1 = Governorate | subdivision_name1 = Aleppo, Raqqa | subdivision_type2 = Administration | subdivision_name2 = {{flagdeco|Syria}} Syrian Interim Government | established_title = Autonomy declared | established_date = {{start date|2014|01|27}} | founder = | seat_type = Administrative center | seat = Kobanî{{sfn|Abboud|2018|loc=Table 4.1 Cantons of the Rojava Administration}} | government_footnotes = | leader_party = | leader_title = Co-presidents | leader_name = Mihemed Şahin<br />Lemis Abdullah | unit_pref = Metric   | area_footnotes = | area_urban_footnotes =  | area_rural_footnotes =  | area_metro_footnotes =  | area_magnitude =  | area_note = | area_water_percent = | area_rank =  | area_total_km2 = | area_land_km2 = | area_water_km2 = | area_urban_km2 = | area_rural_km2 = | area_metro_km2 = | length_km = | width_km = | dimensions_footnotes = | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = | population_footnotes = | population_est = 322,227 | pop_est_as_of = 2004<ref name=census2004>{{cite web |title=General Census of Population and Housing 2004 |url=http://www.cbssyr.sy/General%20census/census%202004/pop-man.pdf |publisher=Syrian Central Bureau of Statistics |language=ar |access-date=15 October 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208115353/http://www.cbssyr.sy/General%20census/census%202004/pop-man.pdf |archive-date=8 December 2015 }} Also available in English: {{cite web |title=2004 Census Data |url=https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/syria/dataset/syrian-arab-republic-other |publisher=UN OCHA |access-date=15 October 2015 |archive-date=30 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530164146/https://www.humanitarianresponse.info/en/operations/syria/dataset/syrian-arab-republic-other |url-status=live }}</ref> | population_density_km2 = auto | population_demonym = | population_note = | timezone = AST | utc_offset = +3 | timezone_DST = | utc_offset_DST = | postal_code_type = | postal_code = | area_code_type = Area code | area_code = +963 21 | iso_code = | website =  | footnotes = }}

'''Euphrates Region''' also known as '''Kobani Administration''' and '''Autonomous Administration in Kobani''',<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 March 2026 |title=Kobani Administration calls on interim govt to implement agreement, lift siege |url=https://hawarnews.com/en/kobani-administration-calls-on-interim-govt-to-implement-agreement-lift-siege |access-date=30 April 2026 |publisher=Hawar News}}</ref> formerly the '''Kobanî Canton''', ({{langx|ku|Herêma Firatê}}; {{langx|ar|إقليم الفرات}}; {{langx|syc|ܦܢܝܬܐ ܕܦܪܬ|translit=Ponyotho d'Prat}}) was an administrative region of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, comprising Ayn al-Arab District of the Aleppo Governorate alongside northern areas of Raqqa Governorate. The military control of the area and town was handed over to the Syrian Interim Government on 26 February 2026, thus ending 12 years of control by the YPG militias.<ref name=SANA2026>{{cite web |title=Security headquarters in Ain al-Arab handed over to Syrian government |url=https://sana.sy/en/syria/2299147/ |publisher=SANA |access-date=28 March 2026|archive-date= |archive-url= |url-status= }}</ref>

==Demographics==

The current population of Euphrates Region is unknown due to substantial refugee movements, but that of Kobane Canton alone before 2014 was estimated at 400,000, with an ethnic Kurdish majority.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/17072014|title=Kobane Under Intense ISIS Attack, Excluded from UN Humanitarian Aid|work=Rudaw|date=17 July 2014|access-date=20 September 2014|archive-date=18 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418005209/http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/17072014|url-status=live}}</ref> Due to intense fighting at least three-quarters of the population fled across the border to Turkey in 2014;<ref name=military_support>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Oct-22/274938-syria-says-giving-military-support-to-kurds-in-koban.ashx#axzz3GNeXxGTV|title=Syria says giving military support to Kurds in Kobani|newspaper=The Daily Star|date=October 22, 2014|access-date=October 14, 2014|agency=Agence France-Presse|archive-date=October 22, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022191037/http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2014/Oct-22/274938-syria-says-giving-military-support-to-kurds-in-koban.ashx#axzz3GNeXxGTV|url-status=live}}</ref> however, many returned in 2015.<ref name=rebuild1>{{cite web|title=The dangerous rebuilding of Kobani|website=Mashable|url=http://mashable.com/2015/03/18/kobani-rebuilding/|access-date=2015-03-20|archive-date=2015-03-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150320221022/http://mashable.com/2015/03/18/kobani-rebuilding/|url-status=live}}</ref> The largest locality of the region and the only one with more than 10,000 inhabitants is according to the 2004 Syrian census, Kobanî (44,821).

==History== {{see also|Rojava conflict}} {{further|Siege of Kobanî|Tell Abyad offensive}}

In the course of the Syrian civil war and the Rojava conflict, Syrian government forces withdrew from the area, and on 27 January 2014 an autonomous Kobanî Canton under the Constitution of Rojava was declared and institutions established.

In July 2013, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) began to forcibly displace Kurdish civilians from towns in Raqqa Governorate. After demanding that all Kurds leave Tell Abyad or else be killed, thousands of civilians, including Turkmens and Arabs, fled on 21 July. ISIL fighters looted and destroyed the property of Kurds, and in some cases, resettled displaced Sunni Arab families from the an-Nabek District (Rif Damascus), Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa, in abandoned Kurdish homes. A similar pattern was documented in Tel Arab and Tal Hassel in July 2013. As ISIL consolidated its authority in Raqqa, Kurdish civilians were forcibly displaced from Tel Akhader, and from the immediate Kobanî area, in March and September 2014, respectively.<ref name="ohchr.org">{{cite web|title=Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic: Twenty-seventh session|url=http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/CoISyria/HRC_CRP_ISIS_14Nov2014.doc|website=UN Human Rights Council|access-date=2016-10-27|archive-date=2015-11-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151109171935/http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/CoISyria/HRC_CRP_ISIS_14Nov2014.doc|url-status=live}}</ref>

Euphrates Region has seen fighting with the Islamic State since 2014. In September 2014, ISIL launched a major assault against the Euphrates Region, capturing more than 100 Kurdish villages.<ref name=guardian>{{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|author=Constanze Letsch|work=the Guardian|date=22 September 2014|access-date=17 December 2016|archive-date=2 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202130717/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/22/isis-onslaught-kurds-syria-disaster-turkey-refugees|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=afpReuters>{{cite web|url=http://world.einnews.com/article/224533266/r3F_mOq1ZvLUZW3e|title=ISIL seizes 21 Kurdish villages in northern Syria, close in on Kobane|publisher=AFP/Reuters|date=18 September 2014|access-date=19 September 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 the Euphrates Region to Turkey, allowed in only under the condition that they left their vehicles and livestock behind.<ref name=guardian/><ref>{{cite web|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=Wall Street Journal|date=17 October 2014|access-date=4 August 2017|archive-date=10 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010105732/https://blogs.wsj.com/middleeast/2014/10/17/hundreds-wait-for-kobani-fighting-to-end-risking-lives-at-border/|url-status=live}}</ref> While committing massacres and kidnapping women in the seized villages,<ref name=afpReuters/> ISIL forces were not able to occupy the entire region, as the People's Defense Units (YPG) and Women's Protection Units (YPJ) forces successfully put up stiff resistance in the city of Kobanî. After weeks of isolation as a result of Turkey blocking arms and fighters from entering the city, the US-led coalition finally began to target the ISIL assault forces with airstrikes. This move helped the YPG/YPJ to force ISIL to retreat from the city, and much of the surrounding region was retaken by Kurdish forces.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/2014/10/ypg-kobani-fighting-islamic-state-turkey.html#|title=YPG official: Airstrikes not enough to protect Kobani|work=Al-Monitor|date=14 October 2014|access-date=21 October 2014|archive-date=20 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141020111631/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/2014/10/ypg-kobani-fighting-islamic-state-turkey.html|url-status=live}}</ref> After the successful summer 2015 Tell Abyad offensive of YPG/YPJ forces against ISIL, municipalities there voted to join the autonomous Kobanî Canton administration,<ref>{{cite news|author=Tom Perry|title=Town joins Kurdish-led order in Syria, widening sway at Turkish border|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-kurds-idUSKCN0SF1BD20151021|work=Reuters|date=21 October 2015|access-date=2016-10-25|archive-date=2016-08-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160819161132/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-kurds-idUSKCN0SF1BD20151021|url-status=live}}</ref> creating the region in its contemporary shape.

==Politics and administration== {{See also|Constitution of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria|List of political parties in Rojava}}

Kobanî's Legislative Assembly has two co-presidents, Lemis Abdullah (an Armenian woman refugee from Tell Abyad), and Mihemed Şahin (a Kurdish man).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://anfenglishmobile.com/rojava-syria/armenian-woman-at-the-head-of-the-euphrates-region-administration-41559 |title=Armenian woman at the head of the Euphrates Region Administration |date=12 February 2020 |website=anfenglishmobile.com |access-date=2020-07-31 |archive-date=2020-08-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803182220/https://anfenglishmobile.com/rojava-syria/armenian-woman-at-the-head-of-the-euphrates-region-administration-41559 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Economy== {{see also|Economy of Syria|Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria#Economy}}

The economy of the region is mainly based on agriculture, with the introduction of greenhouse agriculture since the establishment of the Euphrates Region.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukssd.de/preparations-for-agricultural-project-in-jotkar-kobani-syria/|title=Preparations for "Jotkar" agricultural project|work=UKSSD e. V.|date=11 February 2016|access-date=2016-12-07|archive-date=2016-12-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220080535/http://www.ukssd.de/preparations-for-agricultural-project-in-jotkar-kobani-syria/|url-status=live}}</ref>

While there is no significant industrial area in the Euphrates Region, there is a large number of cement production facilities.<ref name="branches" />

Some electricity is supplied by the Tishrin Dam on the Euphrates, also in the Euphrates Region; a lot is also produced by diesel generators.<ref name="branches">{{cite web|url=https://cooperativeeconomy.info/rojava-the-economic-branches-in-detail/|title=Rojava: The Economic Branches in Detail|work=cooperativeeconomy.info|date=14 January 2017|access-date=16 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170728225813/https://cooperativeeconomy.info/rojava-the-economic-branches-in-detail/|archive-date=28 July 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Around the region, but in particular in the city of Kobanî, economic priorities are the continuing war and reconstruction, including help for returning refugees.<ref name=rebuild1 /> Most of the city and surrounding villages have been destroyed or badly damaged, and there is a danger of landmines.<ref name=rebuild1 /> As of January 2017, in spite off the paucity of resources available and the embargoes imposed on the region, the rebuilding process has made considerable progress; over 70% of damaged roads have been restored, two hospitals rebuilt and another two added, and the 15 schools rebuilt now host over 50,000 students.<ref name="raising">{{cite web|url=http://realmedia.press/raising-kobani-rubble/|title=Raising Kobanî from Rubble|author=Manisha Ganguly|publisher=realmedia.press|date=14 January 2017|access-date=16 January 2017|archive-date=16 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116190822/http://realmedia.press/raising-kobani-rubble/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Education == {{See also|Education in Syria|Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria#Education, media, culture}}

Like in the other regions in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, primary education in public schools is initially instructed according to each student's mother tongue, be it Kurdish or Arabic. Students then begin to learn their second language of Kurdish or Arabic, as well as additional instruction of English. This is due to Rojava's stated goal of students achieving bilingualism in both Kurdish and Arabic by secondary schooling.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://anfenglish.com/culture/education-in-rojava-after-the-revolution|title=Education in Rojava after the revolution|publisher=ANF|date=2016-05-16|access-date=2016-06-10|archive-date=2016-09-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924230823/https://anfenglish.com/culture/education-in-rojava-after-the-revolution|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/11/syria-kurdistan-self-governance-teach-kurdish-language.html|title=After 52-year ban, Syrian Kurds now taught Kurdish in schools|publisher=Al-Monitor|date=2015-11-06|access-date=2016-05-18|archive-date=2016-05-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510184634/http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2015/11/syria-kurdistan-self-governance-teach-kurdish-language.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Curricula are a topic of continuous debate between the regions' Boards of Education and the Syrian central government in Damascus, which partly pays the teachers.<ref name=syriaclanguage>{{cite web|url=http://syrianobserver.com/EN/News/31729/Hassakeh_Syriac_Language_Be_Taught_PYD_controlled_Schools/|title=Hassakeh: Syriac Language to Be Taught in PYD-controlled Schools|publisher=The Syrian Observer|date=3 October 2016|access-date=2016-10-05|archive-date=2016-10-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161004152130/http://syrianobserver.com/EN/News/31729/Hassakeh_Syriac_Language_Be_Taught_PYD_controlled_Schools|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://aranews.net/2015/10/kurds-introduce-own-curriculum-at-schools-of-rojava-2/|title=Kurds introduce own curriculum at schools of Rojava|publisher=Ara News|date=2015-10-02|access-date=2016-05-18|archive-date=2017-06-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170606071936/http://aranews.net/2015/10/kurds-introduce-own-curriculum-at-schools-of-rojava-2/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://new-compass.net/articles/revolutionary-education-rojava|title=Revolutionary Education in Rojava|publisher=New Compass|date=2015-02-17|access-date=2016-05-10|archive-date=2020-06-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200621051923/http://new-compass.net/articles/revolutionary-education-rojava|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://kurdishquestion.com/oldsite/index.php/kurdistan/west-kurdistan/education-system-in-rojava/538-education-system-in-rojava.html/|title=Education in Rojava: Academy and Pluralistic versus University and Monisma|publisher=Kurdishquestion|date=2014-01-12|access-date=2016-05-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160510103830/http://kurdishquestion.com/oldsite/index.php/kurdistan/west-kurdistan/education-system-in-rojava/538-education-system-in-rojava.html/|archive-date=2016-05-10|url-status=dead}}</ref> With Euphrates Region being home to a Syrian Turkmen minority, school education bilingual in Turkish and Arabic has also been made available.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kurdiscat.blogspot.de/2016/10/confederalisme-democratic-noves-classes.html|title=Confederalisme democràtic: Noves classes en llengua turcmana al nord de Síria|work=KurdisCat|date=25 October 2016|access-date=2016-10-29|archive-date=2016-10-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161030001954/http://kurdiscat.blogspot.de/2016/10/confederalisme-democratic-noves-classes.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The federal, regional and local administrations in Rojava put much emphasis on promoting libraries and educational centers, to facilitate learning and social and artistic activities. One cited example is the May 2016 established ''Rodî û Perwîn Library'' in Kobani.<ref name=k24education>{{cite web|url=http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/dfa4b335-fe1c-4a3c-b5b6-7bc5848e9e97/Kurds-establish-university-in-Rojava-amid-Syrian-instability|title=Kurds establish university in Rojava amid Syrian instability|publisher=Kurdistan24|date=2016-07-07|access-date=2016-07-07|archive-date=2018-07-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180718115201/http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/dfa4b335-fe1c-4a3c-b5b6-7bc5848e9e97/Kurds-establish-university-in-Rojava-amid-Syrian-instability|url-status=live}}</ref>

==References== {{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 }}

==External links== * [http://gulf2000.columbia.edu/images/maps/Syria_Ethnic_Detailed_lg.png Map of majority ethnicities in Syria] by Gulf2000 project of Columbia University

{{DEFAULTSORT:Euphrates Region}} Category:States and territories established in 2014 Category:2014 establishments in Syria Category:Geography of Aleppo Governorate Category:Geography of Raqqa Governorate