The Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) released a statement marking World Kobanê Day, 1 November.

The statement released by AANES on Wednesday includes the following:

“The city of Kobanê, thanks to its historic resistance and fighters of the YPG/YPJ, turned into a heroic deed for our people and a legacy of humanity for the peoples of the world. Defeated in Kobanê, the terrorist organization of ISIS failed to realize its ambition to establish a so-called Islamic State in Damascus and Iraq despite direct support from Turkey.

The World Kobanê Day on 1 November, when peoples of the world took to the streets to express their solidarity with Kobanê, is not only a historic development for the building of a contemporary Middle East on the line of Democratic Modernity, but also a historic step for peoples’ solidarity and support for one another in the struggle for freedom and democracy.

On the 9th anniversary of the liberation of Kobanê and World Kobanê Day, we gratefully thank our people who adopted a historic stand. The legacy of the Kobanê resistance is a legacy of humanity, but at the same time a great achievement for peoples fighting a libertarian and democratic struggle. In addition, we also extend endless thanks to our people from Syria and Kurdistan and the internationalists who came to Kobanê with a free spirit and fought for it.

Kobanê and all our regions are still under annihilation and genocidal attacks seeking to take revenge for ISIS, which is a global terrorist composition. The Turkish state is attacking our lands, committing war crimes, destroying the infrastructure that provides vital supplies for our region, and threatening peace and security. At the same time, the Turkish state is threatening the gains that were made in the course of the historic resistance against ISIS mercenaries and terror.

We esteem the worldwide support for Kobanê very highly. Standing against the Turkish state and expositing its policies and support for terror is possible through investigating the concept of annihilation and genocide against our people and protecting the revolutionary gains of our people made during their fight against terror.

We promise our people that we will remain committed to preserving the revolutionary legacy of the Kobanê resistance and the march of the martyrs of Kobanê, answering the demands of our people in North-East Syria and defending them. This will not only enable the liberation of our lands from occupation but also the successful continuation of the struggle against terror and unrest.  We trust that with this determination and will, our people will liberate all the lands that are currently under occupation and build a united Syria.”