At least seven inmates were killed and several others injured after a fire broke out at a prison in the predominantly Kurdish town of Kobane in northern Syria. The blaze erupted during a riot that began overnight, according to the Syrian state-run news agency SANA, which reported the incident on Saturday. The cause of the fire has not been officially confirmed.
State television reported that “dozens were injured, burned or suffocated following a riot.” The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the unrest started after authorities decided to transfer some inmates to another facility in Aleppo. The riot came amid heightened tensions in the town following the killing of a former Kurdish fighter, Sami Sheikhmous Hiso.
Hiso’s body was returned to Kobane on Thursday after he was kidnapped, according to AFP, which reported that the body bore gunshot wounds. On Friday, protests broke out in Kobane over his death. The demonstrations turned violent, leading to arrests, according to the Kurdish news outlet Rudaw. Rudaw reported that some protesters attacked security forces and were being held in the prison at the time of the riot and fire.
The protests and prison riot highlight the divisions still present in Syria following the ousting of longtime leader Bashar al-Assad in December 2024. Syria’s new head of state, President Ahmed al-Sharaa, has pledged to oversee an inclusive administration and govern for all. However, his pledge has been set back by bouts of sectarian violence involving government forces.
In January, Damascus and Syria’s Kurdish community reached an integration agreement, which has since seen Kurdish civilian and military institutions become part of the Syrian state. The prison in Kobane is still administered by Kurdish authorities and is yet to be handed over to the central government. Syrian presidential adviser Mazloum Abdi (also known as Mazloum Kobani) arrived in Kobane on Saturday and has been meeting with senior officials there, according to media reports. Abdi was appointed presidential adviser last month, days after announcing the dissolution of the Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish coalition of armed groups that he led.
Source: www.aljazeera.com