Kobani
Kobanî (كوباني, pronounced [koˈbaːniː], also rendered Kobanê [koˈbaːne], Arabic: كُوبَانِي, romanized: Kūbānī), officially Ayn al-Arab (Arabic: عَيْن الْعَرَب, romanized: ʿAyn al-ʿArab North Levantine pronunciation: [ʕeːn elˈʕɑrɑb]), is a Kurdish-majority city in northern Syria, lying immediately south of the Syria–Turkey border. As a consequence of the Syrian civil war, the city came under the control of the Kurdish-majority People's Protection Units (YPG) militia in 2012 and became the administrative center of the Kobani Canton, later transformed into Euphrates Region of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.
Kobanî | |
|---|---|
City | |
| Ayn al-Arab عَيْن الْعَرَب | |
View of Kobanî during the siege of 2014 | |
Kobanî Location in Syria | |
| Coordinates: 36°53′28″N 38°21′13″E | |
| Country | Syria |
| Governorate | Aleppo |
| District | Ayn al-Arab |
| Subdistrict | Ayn al-Arab |
| Founded | 1915 |
| Area | |
| • City | 7 km2 (3 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 520 m (1,710 ft) |
| Population (2004 census, unless stated otherwise) | |
| • City | 44,821 |
| • Estimate (2015) | 40,000 |
| • Nahiyah | 78,130 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | +3 |
| P-Code | C1946 |
| Geocode | SY020600 |
From September 2014 to January 2015, the city was under siege by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Most of the eastern parts of the city were destroyed and most of the population fled to Turkey. In 2015, many returned and reconstruction began.
In mid October 2019, Kurdish forces accepted the entry of the Syrian Army and Russian Military Police in a bid to stop Turkey from invading the town.
Prior to the Syrian Civil War, Kobanî was recorded as having a population of close to 45,000. According to 2013 estimates, the majority of the inhabitants were Kurds, with Arab, Turkmen, and Armenian minorities.