cautious calm in Kobani after 9 prisoners killed in central prison fire

A cautious calm prevailed over the city of Kobani today, a day after nine prisoners were killed and dozens of others injured in a fire that broke out inside the central prison, amid calls for an independent investigation to uncover the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Local sources reported that the fire broke out inside the dormitories of the central prison, resulting in the deaths of nine of its inmates and the injury of dozens of others who suffered from suffocation and poisoning, while the city’s hospitals continue to provide treatment to the injured.

Twelve people are still receiving treatment in hospitals, including cases described as serious, while a number of other injured people received treatment and returned to their homes after suffering from suffocation and minor injuries. Doctors supervising the cases reported the presence of extremely critical injuries.

Since the early morning hours, patrols belonging to the Internal Security Forces have been driving through the city’s streets amid an atmosphere of tension and anticipation, while most shops in the main market and the wholesale market closed their doors in mourning for the victims.

These developments follow a night that witnessed arbitrary arrests after a large-scale demonstration protesting the killing of Siban Huzni, a fighter in the Syrian Ministry of Defense. The arrests were carried out by a security convoy arriving from Aleppo, coinciding with objections by a number of prisoners to attempts to transfer them outside the city of Kobani.

Residents of the city and the Martyrs’ Families Foundation called for an independent and transparent investigation to uncover the circumstances of the fire, hold those responsible for the deaths of the prisoners and the injuries of others accountable, and ensure that such incidents do not happen again.

ANHA