ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – A 12-year-old Kurdish child died in the symbolic city of Kobane due to the inability to transfer him to Aleppo as a suffocating siege persists despite a deescalation in tensions, Rojava-based media reported on Sunday. 

Dildar Rezan Hasso passed away on Saturday “as a result of the deterioration of his health condition … after it was impossible to transfer him to his specialist doctor in Aleppo University Hospital due to the siege,” said Hawar News Agency (ANHA), affiliated with the Kurdish-led Rojava administration, citing his family. 

The Kurdish city of Kobane has been placed under a siege by forces affiliated with the Syrian government since mid-January, as part of a broader Damascus campaign to weaken the foothold of Kurdish-led forces in Rojava. 

The siege has continued despite the Syrian government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) reaching a ceasefire and integration agreement over two weeks ago.

According to ANHA, Hasso’s doctor in Aleppo had confirmed to his family that treatment was available, but “road closures prevented his family from transporting him to Aleppo to continue his treatment, leading to the worsening of his illness and his death.” 

His death came three days after an eight-year-old displaced Kurdish child died in Kobane due to a lack of medication and dire conditions in the city. 

Last week, a Rojava official told The New Region that the agreement with Damascus “has not brought about any practical change to Kobane,” with the city remaining besieged and lacking basic necessities. 

During the assault on Rojava, Syrian forces violated ceasefires, committed human rights violations, and possibly war crimes. 

In late January, the Kurdish Red Crescent in Rojava reported that at least five children in Kobane had died due to extreme cold and a shortage of medical supplies.