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Euphrates Region

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Euphrates Region
Region of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria
2014–2026
The regions of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria in March 2024, with the Euphrates Region shown in blue
CapitalKobanî[1]
Population 
• 2004
322,227[2]
Historical eraSyrian Civil War
• Autonomy declared
2014
• Integration into the Syrian state
2026
Preceded by		Succeeded by
Ba'athist Syria
Syrian Arab Republic
Today part ofSyria

Euphrates Region, also known as the Kobani Administration and Autonomous Administration in Kobani,[3] formerly the Kobanî Canton, (Kurdish: Herêma Firatê; Arabic: إقليم الفرات; Classical Syriac: ܦܢܝܬܐ ܕܦܪܬ, romanized: Ponyotho d'Prat) was an administrative region of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, comprising Ayn al-Arab District of the Aleppo Governorate alongside northern areas of Raqqa Governorate.

The security headquarters was taken over by the Syrian government on 26 February 2026, marking the beginning of the integration of the Asayish Forces into the Syrian Armed Forces.[4][5][6] As of 6 April 2026, the Euphrates Region still existed, although its institutions had already been integrated into the Syrian state.[7] In August 2026, the region became fully integrated into the Syrian state.[8][9][10][11]

Demographics

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The population of Euphrates Region was unknown due to substantial refugee movements, but that of Kobane Canton alone before 2014 was estimated at 400,000, with an ethnic Kurdish majority.[12] Due to intense fighting, at least three-quarters of the population fled across the border to Turkey in 2014;[13] however, many returned in 2015.[14]

The largest locality of the region and the only one with more than 10,000 inhabitants was, according to the 2004 Syrian census, Kobanî (44,821).

History

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In the course of the Syrian civil war and the Rojava conflict, Syrian government forces withdrew from the area, and on 27 January 2014, an autonomous Kobanî Canton under the Constitution of Rojava was declared and institutions were established.

In July 2013, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) began to forcibly displace Kurdish civilians from towns in Raqqa Governorate. After demanding that all Kurds leave Tell Abyad or else be killed, thousands of civilians, including Turkmens and Arabs, fled on 21 July. ISIL fighters looted and destroyed the property of Kurds and, in some cases, resettled displaced Sunni Arab families from the an-Nabek District (Rif Damascus), Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa in abandoned Kurdish homes. A similar pattern was documented in Tel Arab and Tal Hassel in July 2013. As ISIL consolidated its authority in Raqqa, Kurdish civilians were forcibly displaced from Tel Akhader and from the immediate Kobanî area in March and September 2014, respectively.[15]

Euphrates Region saw fighting with the Islamic State from 2014 onward. In September 2014, ISIL launched a major assault against the Euphrates Region, capturing more than 100 Kurdish villages.[16][17] As a consequence of the ISIL occupation, up to 200,000 Kurdish refugees fled from the Euphrates Region to Turkey, allowed in only on the condition that they left their vehicles and livestock behind.[16][18] While committing massacres and kidnapping women in the seized villages,[17] ISIL forces were not able to occupy the entire region, as the People's Defense Units (YPG) and Women's Protection Units (YPJ) forces successfully put up stiff resistance in the city of Kobanî. After weeks of isolation as a result of Turkey blocking arms and fighters from entering the city, the US-led coalition finally began to target the ISIL assault forces with airstrikes. This move helped the YPG/YPJ to force ISIL to retreat from the city, and much of the surrounding region was retaken by Kurdish forces.[19] After the successful summer 2015 Tell Abyad offensive of YPG/YPJ forces against ISIL, municipalities there voted to join the autonomous Kobanî Canton administration,[20] creating the region in its contemporary shape.

Politics and administration

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Kobanî's Legislative Assembly had two co-presidents, Lemis Abdullah (an Armenian woman refugee from Tell Abyad) and Mihemed Şahin (a Kurdish man).[21]

Economy

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The economy of the region was mainly based on agriculture, with greenhouse agriculture having been introduced since the establishment of the Euphrates Region.[22]

While there was no significant industrial area in the Euphrates Region, there were a large number of cement production facilities.[23]

Some electricity was supplied by the Tishrin Dam on the Euphrates, also in the Euphrates Region; a lot was also produced by diesel generators.[23]

Around the region, but in particular in the city of Kobanî, economic priorities were the continuing war and reconstruction, including assistance for returning refugees.[14] Most of the city and surrounding villages had been destroyed or badly damaged, and there was a danger of landmines.[14] As of January 2017, despite the paucity of resources available and the embargoes imposed on the region, the rebuilding process had made considerable progress; over 70% of damaged roads had been restored, two hospitals had been rebuilt and another two had been added, and the 15 rebuilt schools hosted over 50,000 students.[24]

Education

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Like in the other regions in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, primary education in public schools was initially instructed according to each student's mother tongue, be it Kurdish or Arabic. Students then began to learn their second language, Kurdish or Arabic, as well as receiving additional instruction in English. This was due to Rojava's stated goal of students achieving bilingualism in both Kurdish and Arabic by secondary schooling.[25][26] Curricula were a topic of continuous debate between the regions' Boards of Education and the Syrian central government in Damascus, which partly paid the teachers.[27][28][29][30] With Euphrates Region being home to a Syrian Turkmen minority, school education bilingual in Turkish and Arabic was also made available.[31]

The federal, regional and local administrations in Rojava placed much emphasis on promoting libraries and educational centers to facilitate learning and social and artistic activities. One cited example was the Rodî û Perwîn Library, established in May 2016 in Kobani.[32]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ Abboud 2018, Table 4.1 Cantons of the Rojava Administration.
  2. ↑ "General Census of Population and Housing 2004" (PDF) (in Arabic). Syrian Central Bureau of Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015. Also available in English: "2004 Census Data". UN OCHA. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  3. ↑ "Kobani Administration calls on interim govt to implement agreement, lift siege". Hawar News. 12 March 2026. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
  4. ↑ "Security headquarters in Ain al-Arab handed over to Syrian government". SANA. Retrieved 28 March 2026.
  5. ↑ "Syria Begins Integrating Kobani's Asayish Forces into Interior Ministry as Siege and Humanitarian Crisis Persist". Kurdistan24. 2026-02-27. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
  6. ↑ "Syrian Gov't Takes Military Site From Kurds in Kobani". Asharq Al Awsat. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
  7. ↑ "Almaz Rumi assumes her duties as Mayor of Kobani". Hawar News Agency. 6 April 2026.
  8. ↑ Hasano, Mahmoud and Taha, Jaidaa (2026-01-19). "Syria government, Kurdish forces agree sweeping integration to end clashes". Reuters. Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  9. ↑ "Syrian Kurdish leader says integration with Damascus complete". Al Arabiya. 20 August 2026. Archived from the original on 21 August 2026. Retrieved 20 August 2026.
  10. ↑ Lister, Tim (2026-01-18). "Syria's military has seized swathes of Kurdish-held territory. Here's what we know". CNN. Archived from the original on 28 January 2026. Retrieved 2026-01-19.
  11. ↑ "22/01 Emergency Update". Rojava Information Center. 23 January 2026. Archived from the original on 31 January 2026. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
  12. ↑ "Kobane Under Intense ISIS Attack, Excluded from UN Humanitarian Aid". Rudaw. 17 July 2014. Archived from the original on 18 April 2015. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  13. ↑ "Syria says giving military support to Kurds in Kobani". The Daily Star. Agence France-Presse. October 22, 2014. Archived from the original on October 22, 2014. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  14. 1 2 3 "The dangerous rebuilding of Kobani". Mashable. Archived from the original on 2015-03-20. Retrieved 2015-03-20.
  15. ↑ "Report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic: Twenty-seventh session". UN Human Rights Council. Archived from the original on 2015-11-09. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  16. 1 2 Constanze Letsch (22 September 2014). "Isis onslaught against Kurds in Syria brings 'man-made disaster' into Turkey". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  17. 1 2 "ISIL seizes 21 Kurdish villages in northern Syria, close in on Kobane". AFP/Reuters. 18 September 2014. Archived from the original on 13 July 2018. Retrieved 19 September 2014.
  18. ↑ Ayla Albayrak (17 October 2014). "Hundreds Wait for Kobani Fighting to End, Risking Lives at Border". Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 4 August 2017.
  19. ↑ "YPG official: Airstrikes not enough to protect Kobani". Al-Monitor. 14 October 2014. Archived from the original on 20 October 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  20. ↑ Tom Perry (21 October 2015). "Town joins Kurdish-led order in Syria, widening sway at Turkish border". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2016-08-19. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
  21. ↑ "Armenian woman at the head of the Euphrates Region Administration". anfenglishmobile.com. 12 February 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-08-03. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  22. ↑ "Preparations for "Jotkar" agricultural project". UKSSD e. V. 11 February 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2016-12-07.
  23. 1 2 "Rojava: The Economic Branches in Detail". cooperativeeconomy.info. 14 January 2017. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  24. ↑ Manisha Ganguly (14 January 2017). "Raising Kobanî from Rubble". realmedia.press. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  25. ↑ "Education in Rojava after the revolution". ANF. 2016-05-16. Archived from the original on 2016-09-24. Retrieved 2016-06-10.
  26. ↑ "After 52-year ban, Syrian Kurds now taught Kurdish in schools". Al-Monitor. 2015-11-06. Archived from the original on 2016-05-10. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
  27. ↑ "Hassakeh: Syriac Language to Be Taught in PYD-controlled Schools". The Syrian Observer. 3 October 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-10-04. Retrieved 2016-10-05.
  28. ↑ "Kurds introduce own curriculum at schools of Rojava". Ara News. 2015-10-02. Archived from the original on 2017-06-06. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
  29. ↑ "Revolutionary Education in Rojava". New Compass. 2015-02-17. Archived from the original on 2020-06-21. Retrieved 2016-05-10.
  30. ↑ "Education in Rojava: Academy and Pluralistic versus University and Monisma". Kurdishquestion. 2014-01-12. Archived from the original on 2016-05-10. Retrieved 2016-05-18.
  31. ↑ "Confederalisme democràtic: Noves classes en llengua turcmana al nord de Síria". KurdisCat. 25 October 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-10-30. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
  32. ↑ "Kurds establish university in Rojava amid Syrian instability". Kurdistan24. 2016-07-07. Archived from the original on 2018-07-18. Retrieved 2016-07-07.

Works cited

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