SYRIA - IRAQ - Video: Kobane’s refugees find shelter in Iraqi Kurdistan
- 9 years ago
The bitter battle between Kurdish fighters and the Islamic State (IS) organisation over the Syrian border city of Kobane has forced more than 300,000 civilians to flee the area.
While most refugees make a precarious living just across the border with Turkey, some 15,000 of them have made their way to neighbouring Iraq.
With the fighting just 100 kilometres away, these Kurdish families are struggling to rebuild their lives in hopelessly overcrowded camps.
Some recount the horrors they witnessed in Kobane, where many still have relatives.
“[IS militants] wanted to take our daughters, and everybody had to leave,” says Sara Ibrahim, who fled the war zone with her two daughters.
“Ten people were killed in my village near Kobane. They beheaded many of the residents, especially old men who were not able to flee. These people killed, raped, and burned our house.”
For now, these refugees are safe in northern Iraq’s autonomous region of Kurdistan.
But many are torn between hopes of securing a livelihood in Iraq and the urge to return to Kobane and join their brothers defending the Kurdish stronghold.
Click on the player above to watch the full report by Edith Bouvier, Guillaume Bression and Justin McCurry.
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While most refugees make a precarious living just across the border with Turkey, some 15,000 of them have made their way to neighbouring Iraq.
With the fighting just 100 kilometres away, these Kurdish families are struggling to rebuild their lives in hopelessly overcrowded camps.
Some recount the horrors they witnessed in Kobane, where many still have relatives.
“[IS militants] wanted to take our daughters, and everybody had to leave,” says Sara Ibrahim, who fled the war zone with her two daughters.
“Ten people were killed in my village near Kobane. They beheaded many of the residents, especially old men who were not able to flee. These people killed, raped, and burned our house.”
For now, these refugees are safe in northern Iraq’s autonomous region of Kurdistan.
But many are torn between hopes of securing a livelihood in Iraq and the urge to return to Kobane and join their brothers defending the Kurdish stronghold.
Click on the player above to watch the full report by Edith Bouvier, Guillaume Bression and Justin McCurry.
Visit our website:
http://www.france24.com
Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English
Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/France24_en