RIHA - In Kobanê, which was liberated after 134 days of heroical resistance against ISIS, the people have been against Turkey's attacks for 9 years; On the one hand, they are defending themselves, and on the other hand, they are building a new life under the umbrella of the Northern and Eastern Syrian Autonomous Administration with the "Third Way" strategy.

 

The beginning of the end for ISIS, which became active with the civil war that started in Syria in 2011 and spread fear to the world, was the attacks it launched against the city of Kobanê in Northern and Eastern Syria in 2014. "Democratic Autonomy" was declared in Kobanê, which was taken from the regime forces along with Afrin and Cizîre in Northern and Eastern Syria in January 2014. After the Shengal attack, ISIS launched a three-pronged attack on Kobane, located between both cantons, on September 15, 2014. ISIS, which wanted to stifle the people's revolution by attacking Kobanê, encountered one of the greatest resistances in history. The 134-day resistance of the people of Kobanê brought the end of ISIS.

 

Thousands of people crossed into Kobanê despite the obstacles, rendering the borders meaningless against the attack launched by ISIS with advanced technological weapons, and changed the course of the war by joining the resistance. Those resisting in Kobanê were supported by those who covered the Pirsûs (Suruç) border opposite the city with a human chain, and the resistance grew day by day.

 

 CALL FROM ABDULLAH OCALAN

 

Some important developments during the 134-day resistance, which started with the attacks of ISIS on September 15, 2014, and continued until January 26, 2015, when Kobanê was liberated under the leadership of YPJ, YPG and Euphrates Volcano Operations Room fighters, are as follows:

 

September 22: PKK Leader Abdullah Ocalan said: “The fall of Kobanê means the fall of all Kurdistan.  Everyone must act according to this reality," calling on all Kurds to unite, organize their lives according to the war situation and expand the resistance. After this message from PKK Leader Abdullah Ocalan, who said that Kobanê was the key to solving the Kurdish issue, Kurds in four parts turned their direction to Kobanê. Kurds became a single voice to claim Kurdishness and Kurdistan in the person of Kobanê.

 

September 26: Thousands of people gathered at the Mürşitpınar Border Gate, removed the fences next to the border gate and started to cross to Kobanê in groups.

 

October 1: Footage recorded by Dicle News Agency (DİHA) and İMC TV reflected that ISIS members and soldiers were in common.

 

October 7: Tens of thousands of people walked to the border against the danger of massacre in Kobanê and dispersed to the villages along the border and stood guard.

 

ERDOGAN: KOBANÊ WILL FALL!

 

October 7: In a speech made by AKP Chair Tayyip Erdoğan fallen, in Dîlok, his words about Kobanê was: “it will fall", this set the stage for protests involving thousands of people in many cities. On 6-8 October 2014, 46 people lost their lives as a result of armed attacks by police and soldiers against the protests, as well as clashes with HUDA PAR members.

October 31: Peshmerga forces, who came from the Federated Kurdistan Region within the scope of the fight against ISIS and were held on the border line route for three days, passed through the Mürşitpınar Border Gate to go to Kobane.

 

November 1: On the declared World Kobanê Day, tens of thousands of people came to Mehser village, where a resistance watch was held for Kobanê.

November 6: Social Freedom Platform activist and Marmara University Master's student Kader Ortakaya (28) lost her life in the attack with gas bombs and live bullets on both sides of the border during the artists' human chain action.

 

December 3: The second peshmerga force of 150 people sent to support YPG/YPJ fighting against ISIS in Kobanê also arrived in Kobanê.

 

January 19: After ISIS was repelled, the YPG flag and the photo of PKK Leader Abdullah Ocalan were unfurled on Miştenur Hill, one of the most strategic points of Kobanê.

 

January 26: In Kobanê, which did not surrender to darkness, as a result of 134 days of resistance, ISIS, which spread fear to the whole world, was brought down  and the city was liberated.

 

THE DEFEAT OF ISIS CREATED DISTURBANCE

 

The resistance in Kobanê, which the whole world recognized and showed solidarity with for its unprecedented resistance, has been the subject of countless articles, news, lots of documentaries, stories, books and films in the past 9 years. After Kobanê, ISIS was defeated step by step in other cities and regions it dominated. ISIS was defeated geographically after the Syrian Democratic Forces (QSD) liberated Baghouz, the last piece of land held by ISIS. In places where ISIS was eliminated, people began to build a new life together under the umbrella of the Northern and Eastern Syrian Autonomous Administration with the "Third Way" strategy. The growing gains of the Kurds, who defeated ISIS, increased Turkey's discomfort. He started to implement his plans, which he could not realize with structures such as ISIS and Al Nusra, by going into the field directly and with the paramilitary forces called FSA-SMO, which he trained and equipped.

ATTACKS TO REVIVAL ISIS

 

Having captured Jarablus, Azaz and Bab, Turkey and the paramilitary forces it supported attacked Afrin on January 20, 2018 and completely plundered the city they entered. Hundreds of civilians were kidnapped and tortured, and the fate of lots of kidnapped civilians is still unclear. Turkey and the paramilitary forces it supports attacked the cities of Serêkaniye and Girê Spî on October 9, 2019, a year after Afrin, causing the death of hundreds of civilians in these cities. Parallel to Turkey's increased mobility in Northern and Eastern Syria, ISIS started attacks again. Although ISIS was destroyed geographically in 2019, it is active again today with the support of Turkey and many countries.

 

BUILDING NEW LIFE DESPITE ATTACKS

 

Attacks on the city increased as the 9th anniversary of its liberation approached. In the first 25 days of 2024, lots of people were injured in at least 20 air strikes against Kobanê on 13 different days. While hundreds of villages were left without electricity as a result of the attacks targeting the infrastructure, the Miştenûr Hospital building in the city center of Kobane, which was completely destroyed as a result of ISIS attacks in 2014 but was rebuilt after the liberation of the city, was once again completely destroyed. The people of Kobanê, who have not stepped back against the attacks carried out in the last 9 years since the liberation of the city, are protecting their city with the spirit of the fight against ISIS in 2014-2015, and on the other hand, they are building a new life under the roof of the Autonomous Administration of Northern and Eastern Syria.