Kobane: Civilians flee IS street-to-street fighting

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Islamic State's black flag has been seen above Kobane for the first time, reports Paul Adams

Islamic State (IS) militants have entered the key Syria-Turkey border town of Kobane and taken control of three districts after street-to-street fighting with Syrian Kurd defenders.



IS fighters entered the eastern districts on Monday, raising their black flag on buildings and hills.
Local officials said about 2,000 civilians fled to the Turkish border.
Taking Kobane, besieged for three weeks, would give IS control of a long stretch of the Syrian-Turkish border.
More than 160,000 Syrians, mainly Kurds, have fled the town.
Earlier a local official in Kobane, Idriss Nassan, told the BBC that the town would "certainly fall soon".
He confirmed IS was now in control of Mistenur, the strategic hill above the town and that there was heavy shelling. Kobane is now besieged on three sides.




'Limited weapons'Karwan Zebari, a representative of the Kurdish regional government in the US, told the BBC it would be catastrophic if IS seized control of the town.
"If this continues, if there's no international aid, military aid arriving for the residents of Kobane and these Kurdish fighters that are fighting in Kobane, it could fall into the hands of IS," he said.
He urged Turkey to take action in support of the residents of Kobane.
"I think Turkey's interests, national security, is at stake here as well. It's important that Turkey steps up and assists these Kurdish fighters in repelling this IS momentum."
Asya Abdullah, a senior Kurdish politician and co-leader of the Democratic Union Party, is in Kobane and told the BBC's Newshour programme that fighting was continuing.
She said: "There is fighting on Kobane's streets now. There are still thousands of civilians in the city and IS is using heavy weapons. If they are not stopped now, there will be a big massacre.

 

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The view of an IS flag from the Turkish side of the border near Kobane

 

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"They have surrounded us almost from every side with their tanks. They have been shelling the city with heavy weapons. Kurdish fighters are resisting as much as they can with the limited weapons they have."
Mustafa Bali, a spokesman for Kurds in Kobane, told Agence France-Presse that 2,000 civilians had evacuated on Monday and that all civilians had been ordered to leave.
The US Central Command earlier confirmed a fresh air strike by US-led forces had "destroyed two IS fighting positions south of Kobane" but Ms Abdullah said the strikes in the area were "ineffective".
She said: "[IS has] heavy weapons and tanks, that is why our resistance has limits and we need more air strikes."

A truck loaded with civilians approaches the Turkish border

Kurdish men appeal to the Turkish military to help evacuate people from a village near Kobane

The Turkish military occupies high ground but has not moved over the border







Ms Abdullah said: "The rest of the world is silent about this imminent massacre."
The BBC's Paul Adams, near the border, says this has been a long day of constant gunfire, with smoke drifting across the rooftops of Kobane and occasional thunderous explosions reverberating across the valley.
He adds that the Kurdish defenders are saying that they relish the challenge, but this feels like the beginning of the end.
Our correspondent reported a steady stream of Turkish ambulances racing to and from the border, with many wounded people being treated in hospitals close to the frontier.
Turkish Kurds and refugees have clashed with Turkish security forces on the border for the past two days.
They are angry at Turkey's perceived inaction over IS in recent months, as well as its refusal to allow them to cross into Syria to fight.
Last week, Turkey pledged to prevent Kobane from falling to the militants and its parliament authorised military operations against militants in Iraq and Syria. But it appears to have taken no action so far.






Correspondents say Turkey is reluctant to lend support to the Kurdish forces in the town because they are allied to the PKK, banned as a terrorist organisation in Turkey.

 

[superbeets]

KOBANE KEY FACTS:

• Kobane, known in Arabic as Ayn al-Arab, and the villages surrounding it were home to about 400,000 people, most of them Kurds
• Kurdish parties have governed the area since the Syrian army withdrew two years ago
• In the first half of 2014, IS seized control of neighbouring areas, leaving Kobane surrounded on three sides
• IS launched a major offensive on 16 September, prompting more than 100,000 people to flee to Turkey

 

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[ballerhanz]

Gg isis

 

[ScottL]

Turks don't mind mass slaughter. Usually they're doing it instead of just watching. Maybe they have a side deal with ISIS.

Now all the above is OK for ME to state out loud. Biden might agree, but shouldn't air it publicly.