Kobani Massacre: ‘IS killed my parents, cut my finger’

On the first anniversary of the massacre committed against hundreds of Syrian Kurdish civilians in Kobani by the Islamic State (IS), a 5-year-old girl narrated the atrocities she suffered.

KOBANI, Syrian Kurdistan (Kurdidstan24) – On the first anniversary of the massacre committed against hundreds of Syrian Kurdish civilians in Kobani by the Islamic State (IS), a 5-year-old girl narrated the atrocities she suffered.

On June 25, 2015, the mass slaughter took place in the town of Kobani, on the Syrian-Turkish border. Despite the violence, IS failed to capture the city in a 134-day siege that ended in January. 

In an exclusive interview with Kurdistan24, 5-year-old Roza said the moment her parents were killed and her finger cut were engraved in her memory.

“Before dawn’s early light, I suddenly woke up to gunfire and the screams of my parents when an armed man shot them, cut my finger, and amputated my sister’s leg,” Roza said.

“I will never forget that horrible moment,” she added.

According to a Kurdistan24 documentary, the violent scene left negative psychological effects on Roza, her sister, and brother.

“The distressed kids often woke up terrified and cried asking for their father and mother,” said Roza’s aunt, who, along with her husband, took care of the heartbroken children.

“To kill people while they are asleep is the most outrageous crime that has ever been committed through history,” said Roza’s uncle.

“[IS] is the first and only to commit such horrible atrocities,” he stated.

[Roza tells Kurdistan24 about the massacre committed by IS insurgents in the Syrian Kurdish city of Kobani, Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava), Syria, June 25, 2016. (Photo: Kurdistan24)]

Syria-based Kurdish Hawar News Agency (ANHA), a close associate to the YPG, reported that 251 civilians, including women, children and elderly were killed during the massacre in Kobani.

Redur Khalil, the spokesperson for the Kurdish forces of People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava), told Reuters and The Guardian last year that IS killed civilians to satisfy their criminal tendencies only.

“[IS] is carrying out a collective suicide attack, not to control Kobani or occupy it, but to kill the largest possible number of civilians,” he said.

In September 2014, Kobani was a battleground between IS insurgents, YPG forces, and Women’s Protection Units (YPJ).

On Jan. 26, 2015, the YPG, along with the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Peshmerga reinforcements, and US-led airstrikes, liberated Kobani.

[A girl stands before a banner that contains the photos of martyrs of the Kobani massacre in the Syrian Kurdish city of Kobani, Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava), Syria, June 25, 2016. (Photo: Hawar News Agency/ANHA)] 

 

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany
(Kurdistan24 correspondent Redwan Bezar contributed to this report from Kobani)