At least seven inmates were killed and several others injured after a fire broke out during a prison riot in the northern Syrian town of Kobane on Saturday, Syrian state news agency SANA and Al Jazeera confirmed. Official reports stated that the unrest erupted late Friday amid mounting civic tensions across the predominantly Kurdish border locality. Authorities indicated that the precise cause of the blaze remains under formal investigation.
State television broadcasts reported that dozens of prisoners suffered burns and smoke inhalation as flames spread through the holding blocks.
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the riot began overnight after prison officials moved to transfer a group of detainees to an alternate facility in Aleppo. Inmates resisted the scheduled relocation, leading to confrontations with custodial personnel before flames tore through parts of the facility.
The unrest followed protests in Kobane on Friday triggered by the kidnapping and killing of former Kurdish fighter Sami Sheikhmous Hiso, whose body was recovered displaying gunshot wounds, news agency AFP reported. The death exacerbated security strains between local factions and central authorities in the area. Medical teams transported injured detainees to regional medical centers for treatment, while security forces established cordons around the perimeter.
