Prison riot fire in Kurdish-majority town kills at least seven in Syria

A fire started by prisoners during a riot in Syria's northern Kurdish-majority town of Kobane killed at least seven inmates, state media reported on Saturday.

Violence erupted in the town this week as residents protested over the killing of Sami Shekhmous Hiso, a former Kurdish fighter.

Hiso, also known as Sepan, was reportedly kidnapped before his body was returned with bullet wounds on Thursday in the northeastern Hasakeh province.

"Seven prisoners have died and dozens were injured" at Kobane prison, state television reported.

It said inmates set fire to the prison building, and the blaze spread to several dormitories.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitor, also said the prisoners had started the fire, fearing they were about to be transferred. It put the death toll at nine.

The Democratic Union Party (PYD), Syria's most powerful Kurdish party, gave a similar account.

In January, the Syrian government and the Kurds, who once controlled swathes of north and northeastern Syria, reached an integration agreement following clashes that saw the Kurds lose territory.

Last month, Syrian Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi said the integration of the Kurds' civilian and military institutions into the Syrian state was complete, and announced the dissolution of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces days later.

The prison riot was the first security incident since the dissolution was announced.

Kurds had gathered in several parts of the north and northeast to protest the killing of Hiso.

Sipan Hamo, the regional assistant defence minister and a former senior Kurdish military official, said a number of people had already been arrested over the killing of Hiso, and urged residents to "exercise patience and restraint".

Hasakeh province governor Noureddine Ahmed Eissa condemned "the heinous crime".

State television said that during the violence on Friday, "outlaws" attacked police cars and the building of the Internal Security Directorate.

- Investigation opened -

The deployment of forces within the perimeter of Kobane prison led some inmates to fear they would be sent elsewhere, and, gripped by panic, they set fire to some dormitories, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Saturday.

The PYD said the prisoners started the fire to "protest against an attempt by members of the public security forces to transfer them outside the city", it said.

The party ascribed "full responsibility" for the incidents to the government, and called on it to open an "urgent, thorough and transparent" investigation into Hiso's death and the prison fire.

The Syrian Internal Security Forces, part of the Damascus government, said on Saturday that administration of Kobane prison "has not yet been transferred to the government authorities".

Kobane carries symbolic value for the Kurds, as it was there that Kurdish fighters pushed back and defeated Islamic State group jihadists in 2015, marking a turning point in the war.