UN aid reaches Kobane as ceasefire holds — for now

A United Nations convoy carrying what officials described as “life-saving” aid has reached the Kurdish-majority town of Ain al-Arab, also known as Kobane, in northern Syria, as a fragile ceasefire between Syrian government forces and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) continues to hold, at least on paper.

The convoy arrived on Sunday amid mounting concern over humanitarian conditions in the town, which has been effectively encircled by Syrian government forces. Electricity and water supplies have been cut for days, residents say, adding to the pressure on a population already swollen by displaced families fleeing fighting elsewhere in the northeast.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the convoy consisted of 24 trucks carrying “life-saving aid, including fuel, bread, and ready-to-eat rations, to support people affected by the recent developments”. OCHA said the delivery was coordinated with the Syrian government.

For its part, the Syrian army announced it was opening two corridors — one leading to Ain al-Arab in Aleppo province and another to neighbouring Hasakah — to allow “the entry of aid”.

Ain al-Arab, home to around 400,000 people, sits in a strategic choke point: the Turkish border to the north, Syrian government forces on all other sides, and roughly 200 kilometres from the SDF’s main stronghold in Syria’s far northeast. The SDF has accused Damascus of imposing a siege on the town.

Clashes erupted earlier this month after negotiations over integrating the SDF into the Syrian army broke down. Under pressure from the United States, the two sides agreed last week to a four-day ceasefire. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa gave the SDF a deadline to lay down arms and present an integration plan or face renewed fighting.

That truce was extended by 15 days on Saturday. Damascus said the extension was meant to facilitate a US-backed operation to transfer around 7,000 ISIL-linked detainees from prisons formerly controlled by the SDF to facilities in Iraq.

By Sunday night, however, both sides were already accusing each other of violations. The Syrian army told state media that the SDF had targeted its positions with drones. The SDF, meanwhile, accused “Damascus-affiliated factions” of attacks around Ain al-Arab, including one incident that killed a child.

Ain al-Arab carries deep symbolic weight for the SDF. In 2015, it marked their first major victory against ISIL after a prolonged siege. It would take another four years, with support from a US-led coalition, for the group to defeat ISIL territorially in Syria.