Kobanê Canton Prime Minister Enver Muslim said it was essential a humanitarian corridor be opened to the canton.

Kobanê Canton Prime Minister Enver Muslim said that in order for reconstruction to take place in the war-ravaged city, where there are still unexploded bombs and corpses of ISIS gang members lying amongst the rubble, a humanitarian corridor should be opened. He added that reconstruction did not just mean erecting new buildings, calling on everyone, first and foremost young Kurds, to take ownership of the city. Muslim said the ISIS threat remained, adding: "Our struggle will continue until the gangs are driven entirely from these lands.”

Kobanê Canton Prime Minister Enver Muslim was speaking in Suruç, saying the war was continuing in the villages of Kobanê, while work was continuing in the city to make it inhabitable.

'ISIS threat remains'

Muslim said: "The city has been liberated, but cleansing operations are continuing in the villages.” He added that YPG/YPJ forces are going house to house destroying mines and booby traps left behind by retreating gang members. He said there were also hundreds of corpses of gang members that posed a threat to health, and that the clean-up was ongoing.

'First the young people should return’

Muslim said around 80% of the city had been destroyed and that work was continuing day and night in order to render the city fit for the residents to return. "Our citizens want to go back, but at the moment it is too dangerous for them to return,” said Muslim, adding that in order for the clean-up to be completed as soon as possible the young people should return.  

Camp being set up

Muslim said the western part of Kobanê had suffered little damage and that returning residents were therefore being settled there, adding that work had started to establish a camp for people who come back.

‘Humanitarian corridor is essential’

Muslim said that in order for the hundreds of thousands of people to be able to return to Kobanê a humanitarian corridor was necessary, adding that they had not expected Turkey to take the side of an organisation like ISIS.  

'Our struggle will continue until ISIS has been driven out’

Muslim said they were not just involved in a struggle to liberate the cantons of Rojava, but also to liberate the whole of Syria from the clutches of the ISIS gangs. "We are fighting the gangs along with organisations such as the Shamsi Shimal and Burkan Al-Firat in towns such as Jarablus and Tel Abyad that border our canton,” he added.  Muslim said the struggle would continue until ISIS had been entirely driven out.