ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Swedish member of the European Parliament said the Syrian interim government bears “responsibility” for restoring basic services and withdrawing its forces from around the besieged Kurdish city of Kobane, as the blockade has persisted since mid-January.
“I would say the situation is most critical in Kobane,” Jonas Sjostedt told Rudaw. He was part of a delegation from Sweden’s Left Party to the Munich Security Conference last week.
His comments come amid growing humanitarian concerns in Kobane, where residents face severe shortages of water, electricity, and other essential services and supplies. The Kurdish Red Crescent warned on Tuesday that the besieged town could run out of medicines within days, with baby formula already depleted.
“This is really the responsibility of the Syrian government, because they are responsible to make sure that they have electricity and water and that they withdraw from the areas closest to Kobane,” Sjostedt said.
Despite a January 29 agreement between the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and Damascus aimed at halting fighting and outlining steps toward integration, the siege on Kobane remains in place. Humanitarian groups report shortages of medication for chronic illnesses and a rise in disease among displaced children sheltering in schools and mosques.
Sjostedt’s remarks followed a European Parliament vote last week overwhelmingly backing a resolution calling for stability in northeastern Syria, protections for Syrian minorities - including guarantees of Kurdish rights - and increased international efforts to prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State (ISIS). The resolution also reinforced conditions for future European Union aid to Syria after EU’s January pledge of 620 million euros ($722 million) in post-war recovery funding.
Sjostedt said that “it is vital that this support comes with a conditions” dependent on “progress in what is a process of peace and integration.”
SDF chief Mazloum Abdi, Rojava’s foreign relations co-chair, and Syria’s interim foreign minister attended the Munich conference last week as part of a joint delegation, where they met several world leaders, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who later described the meeting as “historic.”
Sjostedt said he met the delegation “to show solidarity with the people living in Rojava” and to highlight “the fact that it is now a chance for peace,” urging both Damascus and Rojava’s leadership to “live up to the accord that they have made,” referring to the late January agreement.
“Europe has a very important role to play,” he added, stressing that “it should be a clear message to Damascus: no more violence towards minorities.”
Clashes last year in Druze-majority Suwayda killed hundreds, while violence in Alawite-majority coastal regions resulted in even higher civilian death tolls, with Damascus-affiliated forces blamed for many of the casualties.