ISTANBUL: Turkiye’s pro-Kurdish DEM party on Saturday called for the blockade on the Kurdish-majority city of Kobani in northern Syria to be lifted immediately, warning of a “humanitarian tragedy.”
The situation in Kobani had escalated from a crisis into a “deadly catastrophe,” DEM said after sending a delegation to visit northeastern Syria which over the past week has been targeted by a major Syrian military offensive.
The Kurdish-held city, which is also known as Ain Al-Arab, is surrounded by the Turkish border to its north and government forces on all sides.
It lies around 200 kilometers (125 miles) from the Kurds’ stronghold in Syria’s far northeast.
“Both the military and humanitarian siege on Kobani must be lifted as soon as possible,” said DEM co-chair Tulay Hatimogullari.
