The University of Kobanê has demanded an independent international investigation following the deadly attack on the village of Xirab Eşkê. In the artillery shelling carried out on January 25 by members of the Syrian transitional government, five civilians were killed, including two children, and five others were injured. All the victims belonged to the same family.
One of the survivors is 18-year-old Fatima Hec Mehmûd, a first-year law student. She lost parts of both of her legs in the attack. On Sunday, her fellow students and lecturers gathered in front of the university building for a public statement to show their solidarity.
The students held up photos of Fatima and knelt in silence. The appeal was read out in Kurdish and English. “Fatima is not an ordinary student—she is part of our university, part of our future. She represents a destroyed life, a destroyed dream. What happened to her is not only an individual trauma, but a collective moral pain. What happened to her concerns us all.”
The university recalled that the attack on Fatima’s village took place despite existing ceasefire agreements. It condemned the “destruction of education, future, and security” through targeted attacks on civilians. In striking words, the statement asked: “How can a young girl who is just taking her first steps in life lose parts of her body without the world taking notice? And what remains of a child who grows up without parents, taken from them before they could even speak?”
The university administration announced that it will provide Fatima with long-term psychological and social support in order to enable her to continue her studies under dignified conditions. At the same time, it called on all academic and humanitarian institutions to take the situation in Kobanê seriously. “Fatima’s fate is a reminder of what war does to young lives. When lecture halls become places of remembrance, it is time to act,” the university stated.
In conclusion, the university renewed its appeal to international human rights organizations and intergovernmental institutions to legally investigate the attacks on civilians: “An independent procedure in line with international standards is necessary to prevent further war crimes. Those responsible must be identified and held accountable. The massacres committed against our children and students before the eyes of the world leave deep psychological scars. The world must finally take notice.”