Aitweran Village resists siege near Kobani frontlines

Aitweran is one of the villages located very close to the frontlines in the southern countryside of , roughly two kilometers from positions held by factions of the Syrian Interim Government stationed in the village of Berk, earning it the description of "Frontline Zero."

The village is home to about 25 families who, in recent days, have endured heavy and continuous shelling amid harsh living conditions and near-total deprivation of basic necessities, under a tight siege that has affected Kobani city and its countryside for 24 days.

Our agency’s camera managed to enter the village and document the living conditions of residents, who face the siege and ongoing attacks with very limited resources, yet insist on staying on their land despite the difficulties.

Ahmed Kattash, a villager, said: "We resist in our village with high morale, even though we are deprived of essentials like water, diesel, electricity, internet, and food. We are not afraid of the attacks; if we were, we would not remain in our village near the mercenaries."

Kattash added that villagers currently rely on only one generator to extract drinking water from wells, noting that the lack of diesel increases their suffering, whether for heating, vehicles, or running the generator.

He concluded by emphasizing that the villagers will not abandon their homes, saying: "We are not afraid of the shelling. We have been hit by missiles for consecutive days, yet we resisted and stayed in our village."

Najeeb Karou, another villager, stated that residents suffer from a tight siege and lack electricity, water, internet, and food, yet they remain determined to resist and stay in their homes. He added that they rely on alternative methods to meet daily needs, explaining: "We are forced to use wood stoves to keep warm in the bitter cold, where we collect and dry the wood for use."

Karou also noted that villagers go out every night to protect their village and support the forces on the frontlines, calling for the lifting of the siege and the provision of basic services to the residents of Kobani and its countryside so they can live in peace.

Elder Mohamed Ali Karou expressed the villagers’ suffering from hunger under the siege and the rising prices of basic food items, affirming his attachment to his village and his deep connection to the land of his ancestors.

Meanwhile, factions of the Syrian Interim Government continue to impose a tight siege on for the 26th consecutive day, accompanied by a complete cut-off of water, electricity, and internet in the city, which hosts tens of thousands of displaced people from and , as well as displaced residents from Afrin and Shahba, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis and intensifying the residents’ suffering.

ANHA