Displaced Families Endure Harsh Conditions in Besieged Kobani

Hawar News

IDPs in Kobani.

Hundreds of displaced families are living in dire conditions in shelters across Kobani as the city remains under siege and suffers from shortages of basic necessities. In overcrowded halls and amid the winter cold, displaced residents recount fleeing their villages under bombardment, clinging to hopes of returning home once security and peace are restored.

In mid-January 2026, areas of western Kurdistan and northern and eastern Syria were subjected to attacks by factions affiliated with the Syrian Interim Government. The violence led to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of civilians from the cities of Tabqa and Raqqa, including people previously displaced from Afrin, Shahba, and the Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh neighbourhoods of Aleppo. More than 200,000 displaced people sought refuge in Kobani, which has now been under siege for 24 days.

Basma Mohammed, 68, from a village in the Jalabiya district southeast of Kobani, described how heavy shelling forced her family to flee. She said they arrived in Kobani in the evening and spent the night in their car before moving the following day to a mosque alongside 25 other families from their village.

She spoke of the severe shortage of heating oil during the cold weather and the presence of elderly people, children and sick individuals in need of care and medicine. “We long to return to our homes,” she said, adding that although their house remains standing, it was looted by armed factions. Basma, who had recently undergone back surgery, said the lack of medicine, heating oil and adequate space has worsened her pain. She also pointed to the shortage of food, noting that while adults can endure hunger, children cannot.

Another displaced woman, Jihan Muslim from the Jalabiya area, said families fear being killed, kidnapped or looted by armed groups if they return to their villages. She expressed hope that peace would prevail so they could return home and live with dignity.

The Autonomous Administration has accommodated displaced people in around 70 shelters in Kobani, including schools, mosques, kindergartens, halls and empty shops. Some families have also been hosted by relatives within the city. According to officials, the total population of Kobani, including the displaced, has now exceeded 600,000.



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