Two Syrian boys who drowned with their mother as they were trying to reach Greece were laid to rest in the Syrian town of Kobani on Friday, a witness said.

A photograph of the body of one of the brothers, 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi, appeared in news and social media around the world this week, promping sympathy and outrage at the perceived inaction of developed nations in helping the refugees.

Abdullah Kurdi, their father, wept as the boys' bodies were buried alongside each other in a "Martyrs' Ceremony" in the predominantly Kurdish town of Kobani, near the border with Turkey.