ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) on Monday marked the 11th anniversary of the defeat of the Islamic State (ISIS) in Kobane, reaffirming its commitment to protecting the city currently under siege by Damascus-affiliated forces.

In September 2014, ISIS launched a siege of the city of Kobane, capturing hundreds of nearby Kurdish villages and towns, committing massacres, kidnapping women, and displacing over 200,000 civilians.

On January 26, 2015, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), with the support of the international coalition and the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga, began to retake the city from the Jihadist group and fully recaptured it a day later.

“The victory of Kobane proved beyond any doubt that ISIS was not merely a military organization, but a cross-border dark project targeting humanity, its values, and its future,” read the SDF statement on the anniversary.

“Its [ISIS’] defeat in Kobane was not only a military defeat, but an intellectual and moral defeat that toppled its foundations and broke its logic based on terrorism and terror,” it added.

Today, 11 years later, Kobane is once again under siege and has been under heavy shelling by the Islamist-led Syrian Arab Army, as part of a broader military campaign by the Syrian government against SDF-held areas.

A week into the siege, at least five children have died from severe cold and lack of medical supplies, according to Rojava’s Kurdish Red Crescent. A UN convoy of 24 trucks loaded with aid reached Kobane Sunday.

“Protecting the gains of victory over ISIS and ensuring the security and stability of areas that paid steep prices in this war is not a political choice, but a shared moral and legal responsibility,” the SDF said in a message to the international community.

“Silence regarding what Kobane is experiencing contradicts the sacrifices made to defeat terrorism and undermines international efforts to combat it.”

The Syrian defense ministry on Saturday announced a 15-day extension to its ceasefire with the SDF. Nonetheless, clashes have continued in both the Kobane region and Hasakah province.

The SDF renewed its “full commitment to continuing the war against ISIS, “and warned that “any destabilization in the areas of northern and eastern Syria poses a direct threat to regional and international security, and gives terrorist organizations real opportunities to reorganize their ranks and resume their activities.”