With the onset of spring and warmer weather in Kobanê the stench of putrefying ISIS corpses in the city is an invitation to disease. Kobanê municipal administrator Sadık Eldemir said there are 7 personnel with one tractor working to clear the bodies, adding that it was essential that experts be brought in and a humanitarian corridor opened to prevent epidemics.

The city of Kobanê was liberated by YPG/YPJ forces after a historic resistance. The city sustained major damage and thousands of ISIS members were killed. The stench of the corpses lying amongst the ruins of destroyed buildings as temperatures rise means some areas are off limits, while there is also a serious risk of epidemics. The Kobanê municipality is doing what it can to cleanse the city of dead bodies.  

‘We need expert teams’

Kobanê municipal administrator Sadık Eldemir said they had up to now collected 320 bodies with a team of 7 and a single tractor. He said there were at least five times as many bodies awaiting removal amongst the ruins. Eldemir said his team of workers had no experience and could only remove bodies that were in the streets. Eldemir added: "Some corpses are half in demolished buildings and half outside. When we try to move them they fall apart. There is also the risk of falling masonry. There is a need for expert teams."

'Disease will break out’

Eldemir said they were doing their best, but that due to limited means they were unable to collect all the corpses. He added: “Thousands of residents have returned. If these bodies are not removed as soon as possible disease will break out.”

'A humanitarian corridor should be opened'

Eldemir said the canton was still surrounded on three sides by ISIS. He added that aid reaching them in difficult circumstances from North Kurdistan was insufficient and that in order for the city to be made inhabitable a humanitarian corridor was essential. Sadık Eldemir said: “We expect aid from all humanitarian institutions that are opposed to the inhuman ISIS gangs.”