Warning: Readers may be disturbed by the content of this article.

The gruesome video was posted on Facebook on January 22 via a German-based account that has since been shut down. The video was taken by a man who appears to be part of the majority Kurdish group Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), poses selfie-style in front of a line of bodies on the ground. He is smiling widely and has a rifle on his arm.

In the video, he claims that one of the SDF fighters – believed to have committed this massacre – joked that they should blow up the bodies. Another video shows bullets being fired into the bodies, although it is not clear who is shooting.

This footage documents the massacre that took place on January 22 nearby Kobane in the northwest Syria. Local Facebook group Radar Sarina reported that the SDF had carried out extrajudicial killings of at least 21 young men. The SDF has reportedly just released victims from Yeddi Qawi prison near Kobane.

Fifteen bodies were recovered

The massacre documented in the video took place against a complicated background. In January 2026, a significant number of SDF forces withdrew from the Syrian cities of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa towards Kobane. On January 19, clashes broke out between these fighters and the Syrian army near the Tishrin Dam south of Kobane.

Sometime after that, under still unclear circumstances, the doors of Yeddi Qawi, a prison located south of Kobane, were opened, resulting in the escape of many of the people imprisoned there. Some time after that, the massacre documented in a video published on the Internet on January 22 took place.

AND Facebook page dedicated to local news reported that members of the Syrian Civil Defense recovered the bodies of 15 victims of the massacre they said took place near Kobane and handed them over to local authorities. The bodies were then transferred to the Manbij National Hospital, where their families could collect them.

Mukhtar (not his real name) says he was imprisoned in a prison in the village of Yeddi Qawi. He shared with us a copy of the documents he received upon his release from prison, issued by the Kurdish Autonomous Administration, which confirm that he was imprisoned in Yeddi Qawa.

According to Mukhtar, the massacre and the events that preceded it took place between January 19 and 22, 2026.

He describes the prison where he was held as overcrowded, with hundreds of men. He says that most of the prisoners there were Arabs, with a small Kurdish minority.

“They told us about a general amnesty. But they only released Kurdish detainees. About a hundred of them. In the meantime, they told us Arabs, ‘You will have your turn.’ Many believed in it.”

The situation became more and more tense, and on January 21, the prisoners started burning sheets, mattresses and beds. There was smoke everywhere.

“We were suffocating. People were screaming. At one point the SDF opened the door. Not to let us out, but to prevent everyone inside from dying. I would say that between 300 and 400 prisoners, including myself, left the prison and headed for the nearby fields. From there we separated and dispersed. Some of us headed in the direction of Sarrin, and others – maybe around 30 people – towards Kobane.”

‘They fell right in front of me’

Mukhtar says that when the escaping prisoners reached about 1.5 km from the prison, they were intercepted by several vehicles carrying SDF fighters. Mukhtar then went on to describe the extrajudicial killings that had occurred prior to those documented in the video.

“They started by shooting in the air. People were running in all directions. Then they started shooting at us. I saw men falling in front of me. They weren’t carrying anything – no weapons, not even cell phones.

They fell right in front of me. Four or five people died immediately, while others were injured. Everyone was in a panic. I managed to hide in a field, but was later stopped at an SDF barricade. They tied my hands and forced all of us survivors to lie face down on the asphalt. Some of the soldiers wanted to execute us then and there.”

Mukhtar says some of the women SDF soldiers intervened on their behalf and dissuaded the men from executing his group. He and his group were sent back to Yaddi Mawa prison. Others seem to have been sent elsewhere.

‘It was revenge and ethnic discrimination’

“I was finally released again on the evening of January 22, 2026. After we were released, I headed towards Ain al-Arab (also known as Kobane), while another group of about 27 people went towards the Sarrin region.

Members of the Autonomous Administration (op. ed.: civilian branch of the SDF) loaded them into vehicles. They intended to take them to the last point under the control of the Kurds before reaching the territory controlled by the Syrian regime.

In the group of 27 people, most were killed. I was at the checkpoint at the southern entrance to Kobane when I heard the news. I saw some injured people coming. I recognized some of the people in the video.

These murders were not meant to stop people from fleeing. It was revenge and ethnic discrimination. The soldiers insulted the victims and told the prisoners: ‘You will die anyway’.

I survived together with four other people. We reached a roadside gas station, and the owner let us in and took us away. Three days later he brought us to an area outside Kurdish control.”

Mukhtar believes that between 40 and 45 people were executed on January 22.

“The number is much higher than the 21 bodies you can see on the video because there were other executions elsewhere,” he explained.

Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) said the pictures are authenticalthough they claimed to be the bodies of armed fighters killed during the conflict. Our Observer’s report casts doubt on this claim, as do the videos themselves. The bodies are neatly lined up, but there are none weapons to be seen. They are also all in civilian clothes.

Adnan Al-Hussein, a journalist from the region, says the videos provide evidence.

“Everything in the video indicates that the area was secured. If there had been fighting, we would have seen the remains. Here you see men gathered here, restrained and killed.”

‘I tell my story for those who died’

Mukhtar says public speaking carries risks.

“I hesitated. But if I remain silent, then he will die another time. I am not asking for international justice. I am asking for the truth to be told. I am telling my story for those who died.”

People in Manbi are still working to identify the body. However, the number of victims remains unknown.

A tribute to two young men believed to have been killed in the massacre was posted on Radar Sarin’s Facebook page. One man, Ismail Al-Hassani, known as Abu Halab, was from the village of Al-Qubba. Another, Abbas Muhammad Al-Hussein, was from Al-Abdkliya village in Sarin district. Our Observer also spoke about the death of these two men.