The Aftermath of Kobane in Photos

Following the retreat of ISIS, the traces of war are now more visible in the Kobane, a canton in Kurdish-populated Rojava province, Syria.

Even though the city has been saved from ISI by Kurdish forces of YPG and YPJ after 133 days of heavy armed clashes, struggle still resumes in the near villages. 

The clashes in Kobane date back to 15 September 2014.

Some of the highlights from Anatolia Agency photographer Eşber Ayaydın’s lens are as follows:

Kobane is located in Syria. It is located only 15 kilometers south from Urfa’s Suruç district in Turkey. The city is right at Mürşitpınar Border gate. 

The Arabic name of the city is Ayn al-Arab. It was under Aleppo during Asad regime.

However, Kobane was within the Ottoman Empire prior to World War I. After the war, it was temporarily under French rule and then it became a part of Syria. 

In 2004, the city’s urban population was 44,000 and 81,424 with its greater city area. The demographics of the city was distributed as follows: Kurdish (89 percent), Turkmen 95 percent), Arabic (5 percent), Armenian (1 percent). 

During the civil war in Syria,Democratic Union Party (PYD) and Self-Defense Units (YPG) took the control of the city on 19 July 2012. 

They have been fighting against ISIS since 15 September 2014. 

The city was saved from ISIS on January 26.

However, the struggle resumes in the nearby villages. (NV/BM)

* Click here to read the article in Turkish.