The Organizations Office and the Labor and Social Affairs Council of the Democratic Autonomous Administration of the Euphrates Canton called on international institutions and humanitarian aid organizations to fulfill their responsibilities toward displaced people in Kobanê.
The statement noted that thousands of families from dozens of villages have been forced to seek refuge in Kobanê city center under extremely harsh humanitarian conditions in search of safety due to the recent developments on the ground and the expansion of attacks on the rural areas of the city.
Displaced families have been placed in uninhabitable houses, public institutions, schools, and kindergartens, said the statement, noting that armed groups cutting off water, electricity, communication, and internet services in both the city center and rural areas have further deepened the suffering of the forcibly displaced population.
“Out of our humanitarian and moral responsibility, we, as the Kobanê Organizations Office and the Labor and Social Affairs Council, call on international institutions and humanitarian aid organizations to fulfill their duties toward the IDPs and to immediately intervene in the current humanitarian situation,” the statement said.
In this context, many humanitarian aid organizations—including UNICEF, UNHCR, WFP, UNFPA, War Child, the Bihar Organization, the Solidarity Organization, the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, and the International Committee of the Red Cross—have taken action, the statement said. A humanitarian aid convoy sent from Aleppo to Kobanê has been delivered to displaced families in coordination with teams on the ground, and the distribution is ongoing, it added.
However, the statement said, the current aid falls far short of meeting the needs due to the continuous increase in the number of displaced people and the worsening living conditions.
The public was warned that some local institutions and individuals are attempting to claim ownership of the aid and falsely present it as their own, said the statement and underlined that the assistance is being provided by authorized institutions that are present on the ground and directly overseeing its distribution.
At the end of the statement, the international community, humanitarian aid organizations, and human rights groups were urgently called upon to take action. The call included the following demands:
▪ Immediate measures to stop attacks on Kobanê and its surrounding rural areas,
▪ Delivery of additional emergency humanitarian aid,
▪ Visits to the region to witness firsthand the catastrophic humanitarian situation.
The statement stressed that the silence of the international community is exacerbating the suffering of civilians, adding that this stance creates moral and legal responsibility for all parties.