UN humanitarian convoy reaches Syria's besieged Kurdish Kobane

UN humanitarian convoy reaches Syria's besieged Kurdish town of Kobani — UN humanitarian convoy reaches Syria’s besieged Kurdish town of Kobani, Rojava, January 25, 2026. Photo: SANA video/via iKurd.net

DAMASCUS,— A United Nations humanitarian convoy reached the besieged Kurdish town of Kobane on Sunday, delivering aid to residents recently displaced by fighting in northern Syria, a UN spokesperson told AFP.

Earlier in the day, Syria’s military said it had opened a humanitarian corridor to Kobane, a town that became a symbol of Kurdish resistance after its 2015 victory over Islamic State militants. Kobane is now encircled by Syrian government Islamist forces on three sides and by Turkey on the fourth.

The delivery comes after Syrian authorities and Kurdish forces agreed to extend a ceasefire. Under the agreement, Kurdish fighters ceded portions of territory to government troops.

Residents in Kobane told AFP earlier this week that shortages of food, water, and electricity were worsening, and that the town had become crowded with people fleeing Syrian Islamist army advances.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that 24 trucks were sent to Kobane carrying “life-saving aid, including fuel, bread, and ready-to-eat rations, to support people affected by recent developments.”

Celine Schmitt, spokesperson for the UN refugee agency in Syria, later confirmed to AFP that the convoy had arrived. The operation was coordinated with the Syrian government.

The Syrian military said it had opened a second corridor in Hasaka province to facilitate aid delivery.

Kobane, situated roughly 200 kilometers from Syria’s northeast Kurdish strongholds, borders Turkey to the north and is otherwise surrounded by government forces. Kurdish authorities have accused the Syrian army of maintaining a siege on the town.

Kurdish children in the besieged Syrian city of Kobane in Rojava. The city is completely surrounded by Syrian government Islamist forces. Residents have no access to food, electricity, water, or the internet, and severe hunger is spreading. January 22, 2026. Photo: X/via iKurd.net

On Saturday, Damascus and the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) extended a four-day ceasefire by 15 days. Syrian officials said the pause was intended to support the U.S. transfer of Islamic State detainees from Syria to prisons in Iraq, a process that began earlier this week.

By Sunday evening, both sides had exchanged accusations of violations. Syrian state media reported that SDF forces had used drones to target government positions. The SDF, in turn, accused “Damascus-affiliated factions” of attacks near Kobane, including one that killed a child.

Video circulated by government militias depicts actions like those of Islamic State fighters, threatening to kill Kurds and civilians in Syria’s Kurdish region.

The Syrian military said it repelled a ground attack on the village of Kharab Ashk, southeast of Kobane, alongside “intense artillery shelling.” The SDF described these actions as “clear violations of the most recent ceasefire agreement.”

Kobane remains a symbol of Kurdish resistance after its liberation from Islamic State in 2015. With support from a U.S.-led coalition, Kurdish forces eventually defeated IS across Syria, but the campaign cost the lives of more than 21,000 male and female Kurdish fighters.

Syria’s new Islamist authorities have demanded that the SDF disband. U.S. officials have indicated that their alliance with the Kurdish forces has largely ended.

Meanwhile, Turkey’s pro-Kurdish DEM party described the situation in Kobane as escalating from a crisis to a “deadly catastrophe” after sending a delegation to the town on Saturday.

(With files from AFP)