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| {{Infobox settlement | {{Infobox settlement | ||
| | name = |
| name = Ayn al-Arab | ||
| | settlement_type = <!--For Town or Village (Leave blank for the default City)--> | | settlement_type = <!--For Town or Village (Leave blank for the default City)--> | ||
| | official_name = |
| official_name = `Ayn al-`Arab | ||
| | other_name = |
| other_name = Kobani | ||
| | native_name = عين العرب | | native_name = عين العرب | ||
| | nickname = | | nickname = | ||
Revision as of 23:15, 9 October 2014
Place in Aleppo, Syria| Ayn al-Arab عين العربKobani | |
|---|---|
| `Ayn al-`Arab | |
| Country |  Syria |
| Governorate | Aleppo |
| District | Ayn al-Arab |
| Subdistrict | Ayn al-Arab |
| Founded | 1915 |
| Elevation | 520 m (1,710 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 44,821 |
| • Religions | Sunni Islam Syriac Christianity |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | +3 |
Ayn al-Arab (Template:Lang-ar) also known as Kobani (Template:Lang-ku or Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) is a city in the Aleppo Governorate in northern Syria.
The city had a population of 44,821 in the Syrian census of 2004. The population comprises Kurdish, Arab, Turkmen, and Armenian communities.
As a consequence of the Syrian civil war, the city came under the control of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG — a PKK wing) in 2012. In 2014, it was declared to be the administrative centre of the Kobanê Canton of Syrian Kurdistan. Currently Kobanê has been the center of the Syrian Civil War, with the ongoing Siege of Kobanê between Syrian Kurds and the ISIS.
History
According to Salih Muslim Muhammad, who hails from the city, Kobani began as a simple train station built in 1912 along the Konya-Baghdad Railway. The name of Kobani is derived from the German railway company who built that section of the Berlin-Baghdad Railway.
Armenian refugees fleeing the Armenian Genocide founded a village next to the train station in 1915, and were soon joined by Kurds from nearby areas. After demarcation of the border with Turkey along the railway line in 1921, part of the town was left on the other side of the border, today incorporated in the Suruç district as Mürşitpınar and there is an eponymous border crossing.
The city's infrastructural layout was largely planned and constructed by French authorities during the Mandatory period, and a number of French-built buildings are still standing and in use today.
By the middle of the 20th century, there were three Armenian churches in the town, but most of the Armenian population emigrated to the Soviet Union in the 1960s.
Syrian civil war
See also: Siege of KobanêThe People's Protection Units (YPG) captured Ayn al-Arab on 19 July 2012. Since July 2012, Ayn al-Arab has been under Kurdish control, while the YPG and Kurdish politicians await an autonomy for the area they consider part of Syrian Kurdistan. After similar less intense events earlier in 2014, on 2 July the town and surrounding villages came under attack from fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. On 16 September the IS resumed its Siege of Kobanê with a full scale assault from the west and south of the city. In October 2014 the defences were breached and on Tuesday October 7 Turkey's President announced that the city would fall shortly unless more airstrikes and ground troops would be employed. Shortly after this remark it was reported that the situation changed in favor of the Kurds. As well, US-led airstrikes were having effect.
References
- General Census of Population and Housing 2004. Syria Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). Aleppo Governorate. Template:Ar icon
- "The Second Report: Ayn al-Arab/Kobani, Etana Billetin-First issue". Etana Files. 1 December 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
- "PKK Appeals to Kurds in Turkey to Fight for Kobane". Rudaw.net. 19 September 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2014. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) appealed to young Kurds in Turkey to rush to the aid of Syrian Kurds in Kobane, where its sister forces have been alone resisting renewed assaults this week by the Islamic State (IS).
- Cockburn, Patrick (7 October 2014). "Isis in Kobani: Turkey's act of abandonment may mark an 'irrevocable breach' with Kurds across the region". Independent.
- Cheterian, Vikin (2 October 2013). "Kurdish Leader Denies Syrian Kurds Seek Secession". Al Monitor. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) Originally published in Arabic by Al-Hayat as أكراد سورية لا يريدون الانفصال نحارب النظام و«النصرة» ونخشى مجازر on 28 September 2013. - "More Kurdish Cities Liberated As Syrian Army Withdraws from Area". Rudaw. 20 July 2012.
- Rozoff, Rick (3 August 2012). "NATO's Secret Kurdish War: Turkey Prepares Iraq-style Attacks Inside Syria". Eurasia Review. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
- "Liberated Kurdish Cities in Syria Move into Next Phase". Rudaw. 25 July 2012.
- "What's happening in Kobane?". Kurdish Question. 6 July 2014.
- James, Catherine (6 October 2014). "ISIS Flags Raised in Kobani Near Turkish–Syrian Border". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- James, Catherine (7 October 2014). "Syrian Kurds reportedly holding back Isis militants in Kobani". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
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36°53′23″N 38°21′20″E / 36.88972°N 38.35556°E / 36.88972; 38.35556
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