The Basque municipality of Durango twinned with Kobane in 2017. Since then, there has been an intense and meaningful exchange between the two cities. 

Today, the mayor of Durango, Ima Garrastatxu, and the deputy mayor, Julián Ríos, met online with Rewsan Khalil Abdi, co-mayor of Kobane and Roisin Mahmud, responsible for all the municipalities of the canton of Kobane, to convey the solidarity of the Durango people in the face of the Turkish attacks.

Durango and Kobane signed a twinning agreement in 2017 because the two towns have suffered, at different times in history, indiscriminate air attacks against the civilian population. This link has been maintained over the years with different lines of shared work and mutual visits.

For this reason, and due to the beginning of the attacks by the Turkish government against the Autonomous Administration of Northern Syria, Garrastatxu and Rios have demanded that Turkey stop attacking a defenseless population with the sole objective of creating suffering. Kobane has been one of the main targets of these attacks.

“The attacks that the Kurdish people and especially the Kobane region have been suffering since Saturday night are unacceptable. The Kurdish authorities have told us that these attacks are being carried out indiscriminately, killing the civilian population and destroying hospitals and basic services”, declared the mayor and deputy mayor of Durango.

“We are closely following the news and information sent to us from Kobane by its authorities, and we will continue to maintain it until the aggressions cease. It is evident that we are facing actions that violate international law, which is why we demand that the competent authorities speak out against these attacks. It is time to work for peace and freedom. That is why from Durango we transmit our solidarity to the Kurdish people”, added Garrastatxu.

Mayor Garrastatxu and deputy mayor Rios, also added that they will be "the voice of Kobane in these difficult days." On their part, both Kurdish representatives thanked the Basque municipality for its solidarity and said that the Turkish plan is to empty Kobane by forcing the people out of it with these attacks. "However, - said co-mayor Khalil Abdi - thanks to the solidarity and support of Durango we gain in courage and morale, because we feel we are not alone."