ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - At least five children have lost their lives due to extreme cold and shortage in medical supplies, as the Syrian government continues to impose a siege on the Kurdish city of Kobane, the Kurdish Red Crescent in Rojava (northeast Syria) said Saturday.

The Syrian government has imposed a suffocating siege on Kobane in recent days, blocking roads leading to the city, slashing electricity, and curbing access to basic services for its some 150,000 population.

“Due to the ongoing siege imposed on Kobane, five children (including infants) have tragically passed away so far as a result of the severe drop in temperatures and the acute shortage of heating fuel and essential medical supplies,” said the organization.

“The continuation of this siege poses a grave and direct threat to the lives of children, the sick, and the elderly,” it added.

The Red Crescent called on the international community “to intervene immediately to break the siege and secure fuel and relief materials before more lives are lost,” and to “exert urgent pressure to open a safe humanitarian corridor without any further delay.“

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Friday that humanitarian partners operating in Kobane are increasingly concerned about “the humanitarian situation there [in Kobane] getting worse,” adding that all roads connecting to the city are “currently closed.”

Interruptions to electricity, water, and internet services are further hampering civilians’ access to basic needs, according to the UN office.

Kobane’s isolation comes amid wider instability in Rojava, as Damascus-affiliated forces have launched a brutal offensive against Kurdish-held areas in a bid to secure interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa’s vision of a united, centralized Syria, despite the country’s marginalized minorities repeatedly calling for federalism.