Staffan de Mistura, the United Nations' envoy to Syria, appealed to Ankara to let "volunteers" cross the frontier so that they can reinforce Kurdish militias defending the town that lies within sight of Turkish territory.
"Do you remember Srebrenica? We do. We never forgot and probably we never forgave ourselves," de Mistura told a news conference.
Turkey has stationed tanks on hills overlooking Kobani but so far refused to intervene without a comprehensive deal with the United States and other allies on the Syrian civil war. It has also prevented Turkish Kurds from crossing the frontier to reinforce their fellow Kurds defending the town.
"We would like to appeal to the Turkish authorities ... to allow the flow of volunteers at least and their own equipment in order to be able to enter the city and contribute to a self-defence action," de Mistura said in Geneva.
While much of the population has already fled the Islamic State offensive, 500-700 mostly elderly people were still sheltering in the mainly Kurdish town, while 10,000-13,000 were nearby in a border area between Syria and Turkey.
They were all likely to be massacred if the last remaining exit point from Kobani fell, de Mistura said. "When there is an imminent threat to civilians, we cannot, we should not, be silent."
Ocalan Iso, the deputy head of the Kurdish forces defending Kobani, reiterated a call for Turkey to open a corridor allowing Kurds from other parts of northern Syria to reinforce the town. "We will not only liberate the Kobani area, but Arab areas also. But if Turkey cuts all the access ... then it proves that the Turkish state is backing Islamic State directly," he said......................http://www.todayonline.com/world/un-envoy-calls-turkey-prevent-massacre-kobani?singlepage=true
10/10/14
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Only Kurdish fighters left in Kobani, says AK Party spokesman...
ReplyDeleteA spokesman for Turkey's ruling Justice and Devlopment (AK) Party has stated that, except for Kurdish fighters and Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militants, the border town of Kobani (Ayn al-Arab) was essentially empty.
"Currently there is no one left in Kobani except the Kurdish PYD militants. Everyone else in Kobani has come to Turkey," said deputy chairman of AK Party Besir Atalay on Friday. The PYD is the Syrian affiliate of the outlawed PKK.
Nearly 200,000 Syrians of Kurdish origin have fled from the city of Kobani to neighboring Turkey over the last two weeks, as Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL, has incessantly attacked the town................http://www.aa.com.tr/en/headline/402439--only-kurdish-fighters-left-in-kobani-says-ak-party-spokesman
10/10/14