ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Authorities in the Kurdish-majority city of Kobane in northeast Syria (Rojava) will support a public signature campaign launching Tuesday to seek official recognition of the city's Kurdish name, as well as to restore the Kurdish names of villages in state records, a local official confirmed on Monday.
Mohammed Mohammed, Kobane sub-district director, told Rudaw's Noushin Hami that the push "aims to collect signatures from residents before submitting the request through Syria's administrative system."
The initiative seeks formal recognition of the name Kobane in place of the Arabic name Ayn al-Arab, the local official said, adding that it also seeks the reinstatement of Kurdish village names that were changed under the toppled Ba'ath regime.
"We will fully support the signature campaign," he affirmed, noting that "once signatures are collected and approved by local authorities at the sub-district and district levels, they will be forwarded to [Syria's northern] Aleppo province," and that "if endorsed by the governor, the request will be sent to Syria's ministry of local administration and environment for review before a final decision is made."
Kobane holds deep significance for the Kurdish community. In 2014, the city became the focal point of a brutal assault by the Islamic State (ISIS), which at the time controlled vast territories across Syria and Iraq. Beginning in mid-September, ISIS militants seized village after village, tightening their grip around the city and forcing thousands of civilians to flee into neighboring Turkey.
With decisive support from the US-led Global Coalition against ISIS and reinforcements from Kurdistan Region Peshmerga forces, the People’s Protection Units (YPG) ultimately repelled the militants in January 2015. The victory marked ISIS’s first major military defeat and propelled Kobane into global headlines as a powerful symbol of resistance against extremism.
That triumph, however, came at an enormous cost as nearly 70 percent of the city was destroyed during weeks of intense fighting. In the years since, residents and local authorities have worked painstakingly to rebuild homes, infrastructure, and basic services - reviving a city once reduced to rubble.
In recent weeks, Kobane has seen protests after residents were upset that authorities tried to replace the sign bearing the city's Kurdish name with another that upheld the Arabic name Ayn al-Arab.
Mohammed told Rudaw that he personally hopes the name Kobane will be officially recorded in state documents because of what it represents for the city and its residents and because it “reflects the sacrifices and efforts associated with it."
"We also want all Kobane village names restored to their original Kurdish names in the state's records," Mohammed said. "The names should be Kurdish, not the names that were changed during the Baath era." He added that he believes there is broad support for the initiative, including from Aleppo's governor. "No one is against the name Kobane," he said.
Of note, the campaign comes amid ongoing negotiations between Damascus and the Rojava administration following a landmark January agreement between the two sides on integrating institutions in the Kurdish-led enclave.
The issue has also emerged in higher education. Last week, a presidential envoy confirmed to Rudaw plans to rename Rojava University, triggering concern among Kurdish officials seeking formal recognition of the university while preserving its identity.
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