Newroz fire has been lit in Etmenek village of Suruç district where hundreds of thousands of people from Kobanê have been hosted since the beginning of the attacks by ISIS. In the meantime, Newroz fire has been lit on Kaniya Kurda hill and in many places in Kobanê as well. The Newroz rally at the border has started with the participation of thousands of people saluting the Kobanê resistance. Kobanê canton PM Enwer Müslim is expected to salute the crowd and to make a speech at the rally.

This year’s Newroz is being celebrated at the border with Kobanê with great enthusiasm, rendering the border between North and West Kurdistan meaningless. The Newroz rally has started in Etmenek, where thousands of people have flocked from all over North Kurdistan. The rally started with a minute’s silence for all those who have lost their lives in the struggle for freedom, also joined by the people on the Kobanê side of the border.

Newroz will be celebrated in Kobanê on 21 March, while the fires on Kaniya Kurda hill and many other places in the town are being lit. Thousands of people from Kobanê also flocked to the border to salute those rallying on the other side.

While thousands of people continue to flock to the Newroz field in Etmenek after gathering in Suruç, people at the rally have already begun to perform halay with the music of Welate Roje and the children’s choir, Koma Rojava.

While more fires are being lit in many places in Etmenek village to salute the fires in Kobanê, a delegation comprising HDP co-chair Figen Yüksekdağ, DTK co-chair Selma Irmak, Kobanê PM Enwer Muslim as well as HDP deputies, has reached the rally field, where they will together light the big Newroz fire at this most splendid Newroz celebration in Suruç and Kobanê.

The rally will continue with speeches and will be followed by musical performances by Mesopotamia Culture Centre artists.