At a Glance

• Inmates set fire to Kobani prison cells to resist forced transfers to Aleppo.
• A detainee told Channel8 that the protest stemmed from a nationalist stance against Damascus-controlled prison transfers.
• SOHR demanded an immediate review of facility surveillance footage.
• Presidential Adviser Mazloum Abdi arrived to de-escalate the situation.

An injured inmate from the deadly Kobani prison fire revealed that detainees set themselves ablaze to resist forced transfers to Aleppo, as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) demanded an immediate review of all facility surveillance footage to uncover the definitive cause of the blaze.

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Key Statement and Focus Area

• The inmate has revealed the truth behind the incident, stating that the inmates set themselves on fire. According to the prisoner, their main goal was to prevent the implementation of a transfer order that would move newly detained individuals to prisons in Aleppo city.
• The Syrian Observatory demands that surveillance camera recordings inside and around the prison be thoroughly inspected to uncover those responsible for the incident.

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Masoud, who was earlier arrested over the tensions in Kobani and was injured in the incident, confirmed to Channel8 that the detainees set themselves on fire. 

He noted that their cell, which held 26 to 27 inmates, was the first within the entire prison facility to initiate the self-immolations. 

He added that tensions flared and resistance erupted when new detainees arrived and it became known that preparations were underway to transfer them to Aleppo.

According to the injured inmate, the primary reason for their reaction was a nationalist stance against handing over Kurdish detainees from Kobani to prisons under Damascus authority control in Aleppo. 

To defend the newly arrived prisoners and obstruct the transfer order, the inmates resorted to self-immolation, causing the fire to spread to other sections and result in heavy casualties.

Meanwhile, SOHR announced that it has obtained several video clips showing security forces deployed around the prison. The video clips record tensions and the chanting of slogans between members of the security forces and the detainees before the fire broke out. 

The organization demanded that the truth be revealed through a genuine investigation, away from conflicting narratives, in order to identify the primary individuals responsible. 

The Syrian Observatory noted that after several hours of intense tension, the situation in the city of Kobani has recently returned to normal; at the same time, the organization emphasized the importance of providing full protection for all detainees inside the prison and called for preventing any attempt aimed at misleading the course of the investigations.

FYI

The inmates had been detained during recent protests across Western Kurdistan (Rojava) cities against the murder of Sami Sheikhmous Hasso (Sipan) by members of a Damascus-aligned Arab tribe. 

Following a directive to transfer these detainees from Kobani, the inmates revolted against the order and set themselves on fire, while official authorities have yet to issue a clarification regarding the incident or the relocation order.

Channel8 reported earlier today that with the aim of de-escalating the security situation and following up on the deadly prison incident, Mazloum Abdi, Adviser to the Presidency of the Republic of Syria and former General Commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), has arrived in the city of Kobani.

The Channel8 correspondent in Kobani also confirmed that all rumors regarding the imposition of a curfew in the city are false. Currently, the movement of citizens on the streets continues normally, and no security decision has been made to halt traffic; meanwhile, security forces remain on high alert to maintain stability throughout the city.

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