Kobani families demand answers on fate of 587 missing people
KOBANI, Syria (North Press) – Families of people abducted or missing after being captured by the Islamic State (ISIS) held a protest on Sunday in Kobani, northern Syria, demanding information about the fate of their relatives who have been missing for more than a decade.
The protest was organized by the Meshtanour Association, which represents families of people abducted by ISIS as well as missing and abducted persons. It was held at the Free Women’s Square in Kobani city to mark the International Day of the Disappeared.
Mahmoud Zito, an official at the Meshtanour Association, told North Press that most of the people abducted by ISIS were taken in groups from different locations in 2014.
“On the International Day of the Disappeared, we want to make our voice heard by the world, human rights organizations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the Global Coalition and the Syrian government, and ask them to help determine the fate of our abducted sons,” Zito said.
The association has documented the names of 587 people from Kobani and its surrounding countryside who were abducted by ISIS between 2014 and 2015, according to Zito.
He stressed the need to establish the fate of the missing, particularly following the integration reached between the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian transitional government.
ISIS abducted more than 550 people from Kobani and its countryside during 2013 and 2014, according to figures cited by the association.
Families of those missing have continued to seek information about their relatives, many of whom have had no confirmed whereabouts or fate since the group’s attacks and territorial expansion in the region more than a decade ago.