KOBANI, Syria (North Press) – People of the city of Kobani in the eastern countryside of Aleppo Governorate, north Syria, fear the return of the 2014 incidents when ISIS attacked the area.
Hanifi Esmat, 50, who is from the city of Kobani, spends the winter nights meeting with his friends and talking about the security situation and the Turkish threats in their area.
They do not hide their fear of the return of the attack that occurred in 2014 when ISIS attacked the city.
Esmat, along with the other residents of his city, hopes that the guarantee countries, especially the United States, work on permanent stability in the area and prevent the Turkish attacks, which may contribute to the re-emergence of ISIS in the region.
In September 2014, ISIS launched a war on the city of Kobani and took control of the entire countryside and a large area of the city claiming the lives of hundreds of military personnel and civilians, and displacement of hundreds of thousands of others. Months later, the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and Women’s Protection Units (YPJ), supported by the US air force managed to defeat ISIS militarily in January 2015.
However, the memories of the war are still present in the minds of those who lived the details of the liberation battle of Kobani against ISIS, and the impacts of the war are still present. This can be seen through the destruction that afflicted the city during the attack.
Like other people in the city, Esmat appeals to the Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS to work on ceasing the Turkish attacks on their city, as it impacts their lives and hinders their ability to do their jobs.
The battle of Kobani left several awful images and heartbreaking stories that are hard to forget, according to interviews made by North Press.
The UN revealed at the time that the four-month battle led to the destruction of more than 3.000 buildings. However, Kobani was liberated on January 26, 2015.
Esmat believes that the US, France, and Germany must stop Turkish strikes against northeastern Syria because ISIS will use it in reorganizing its members and pose a threat to the whole world.
On November 20, the Turkish air force launched intense airstrikes on all Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES)-held areas on the Syrian-Turkish border in addition to bombarding areas that are more than 40 km away from the border such as the Global Coalition military base and Hawl Camp in Hasakah and the village of Makman in the northern countryside of Deir ez-Zor.
Due to the instability and insecurity in the area as a result of the Turkish threats to launch a ground operation against Kobani, several young men emigrated from the city, and some were forced to sell their property to take the migration path, which resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Kobani residents.
Sheikho Temmo, 60, a citizen of the Kobani countryside, said the city has not had stability and security since the ISIS invasion in 2014.
Temmo called on influential great powers and human rights organizations to intervene to maintain stability and peace in the region and end the attacks.
He believed that the solution is to impose a no-fly zone over the region.
Residents of Kobani and the border villages located on the contact line in northern Syria are afraid of a Turkish ground operation, expecting that it will result in a “humanitarian catastrophe” and aggravate their circumstances.
Haji Shahin, 43, said that the people of Kobani sacrificed thousands of martyrs to rescue the world from ISIS terrorism, adding, “This must be appreciated by the international community and that the Global Coalition must work on a political solution that contributes to the region’s stability.”