Fighting breaks out again in Kobani as Kurdish defenders wait for reinforcements
- 10 years ago
Fierce fighting has broken out once again in northern parts of the beleaguered Kurdish Syrian town of Kobani after a relatively quiet day on Monday.
Earlier the town’s Kurdish defenders appeared to have driven out ISIL fighters.
Kurds there are to be reinforced by Iraqi Kurdish forces after the Turkish government made what is being seen as a policy U-turn to allow Peshmerga to cross its border with Syria to help fight the extremists.
Ankara refuses to arm or offer direct help to the Syrian Kurds defending Kobani because of their ties to the PKK, a group that waged a decades-long militant campaign for Kurdish rights within Turkey.
However growing pressure from the US, European Union and NATO has apparently resulted in Ankara rethinking its position.
The move follows the US’s surprise air drop of weapons and medical supplies into Kobani.
The US support and Peshmerga reinforcements could mark a turning point for Kobani.
Although largely deserted after residents fled into Turkey in the face of the advancing extremists, Syrian Kurdish fighters have been holding out against better armed ISIL for weeks.
Earlier the town’s Kurdish defenders appeared to have driven out ISIL fighters.
Kurds there are to be reinforced by Iraqi Kurdish forces after the Turkish government made what is being seen as a policy U-turn to allow Peshmerga to cross its border with Syria to help fight the extremists.
Ankara refuses to arm or offer direct help to the Syrian Kurds defending Kobani because of their ties to the PKK, a group that waged a decades-long militant campaign for Kurdish rights within Turkey.
However growing pressure from the US, European Union and NATO has apparently resulted in Ankara rethinking its position.
The move follows the US’s surprise air drop of weapons and medical supplies into Kobani.
The US support and Peshmerga reinforcements could mark a turning point for Kobani.
Although largely deserted after residents fled into Turkey in the face of the advancing extremists, Syrian Kurdish fighters have been holding out against better armed ISIL for weeks.