[There is widespread appreciation for the valiant resistance offered by the Kurds in Kobane backed up by much intensified airstrikes. Turkish duplicity has evoked strong outrage among the Kurds in particular.]
I/II. http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/10/un-envoy-urges-world-stop-kobane-massacre-2014107182749812877.html UN: World must act to prevent Kobane massacre UN envoy Staffan de Mistura says Syrian city must be saved from the "rapes, massacres and horrific violence" of ISIL. Last updated: 07 Oct 2014 22:30 The UN envoy for Syria has urged the international community to act to prevent the "rape and massacre" of Kobane, as US-led air attacks failed to stop ISIL storming the Kurdish-Syrian town. Staffan de Mistura said on Tuesday that Kobane faced horrific violence under ISIL. "The world has seen what happens when a city is overtaken by the terrorist group: massacres, humanitarian tragedies, rapes, horrific violence," he said. "The international community cannot sustain another city falling under ISIS. What is needed now is concrete action. The world - all of us - will regret deeply if ISIL is able to take over. We need to act now." His comments came as ISIL continued its advance on the city, seemingly unhindered by air attacks by a US-led coalition. The black flag of the armed group was raised over three districts in the east of Kobane after fierce battles with its Syrian-Kurdish defenders. Al Jazeera's Yilmaz Akinci, reporting from the nearby Turkish border, said that air strikes had hit the centre of the city. "About 40 minutes after the air strikes, ISIL started to shell inside the city centre too," Akinci said. The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said US-led coalition is carrying out fresh airstrikes near ISIL sites in Raqqa. A former base of the Syrian Regime 93rd brigade, which has been turned into ISIL headquarters and is 55 kilometres from Raqqa, has been targeted by the strikes. Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, meanwhile said the city was close to capitulation and gave warning that that the US-led air campaign was not enough to stop ISIL. "The terror will not be over... unless we cooperate for a ground operation," Erdogan said in the eastern city of Gaziantep. "I am telling the West - dropping bombs from the air will not provide a solution." Erdogan however stopped short of saying he would send Turkish troops into Kobane .Turkey's parliament last week authorised military action against ISIL but it has yet to begin operations. Taha Ozhan, a senior adviser to the Turkish prime minister, told Al Jazeera that Turkey's main problem was "about the regime" in Syria. Staffan de Mistura, UN envoy to Syria "Without considering Assad as the source of the problem, talking about ISIL and focusing on ISIL is just one dimension of the issue," he said. Meanwhile, pro-Kurdish demonstrators clashed with police on the Turkish side of the border and in several cities, including the capital Ankara, incensed by Turkey's inaction in the fight against ISIL. Nine people are now confirmed dead in violence during the protests, at least two of those in crossfire during a battle between pro-Kurdish demonstrators and opponents. II. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29526783 8 October 2014 Last updated at 04:33 Kobane: Air strikes help Syria town curb IS Most people believe it is only a matter of time before Kobane falls, says the BBC's Jim Muir Continue reading the main story Islamic State Too little too late? Survival stories Need for resolve Fatal attraction? The US-led coalition has carried out its most sustained air attacks so far on Islamic State fighters attacking the Turkey-Syria border town of Kobane. Syrian Kurdish fighters said the strikes were the most effective yet but should have come much earlier. Correspondents said the surge of IS appeared to have been halted, although fighting around Kobane continues. At least 12 people were killed in protests by Kurds in Turkey about the lack of Turkish military support. Kurdish Syrian Party leader Salih Muslim said the situation overnight remained very serious with the Kurdish fighters of the YPG militia under intense pressure. "There is heavy fighting going on by YPG forces and they're trying to defend the civilians," he said. "There is a very large operation against them." At least 400 people have died in three weeks of fighting for Kobane, monitors say, and 160,000 Syrians have fled across the border to Turkey. 'More robust' The latest media release from the US military confirmed five air strikes around Kobane, saying they were on Monday and Tuesday, but without specifying exactly when. Protests have taken place in Turkey and in western Europe over what demonstrators see as Turkish inaction over the IS advance The strikes take place as the Obama administration is reported to be increasingly frustrated by what it sees as Turkey's excuses for not doing more to intervene militarily. "There's growing angst about Turkey dragging its feet to act to prevent a massacre less than a mile from its border," a senior administration official was quoted by the New York Times as saying. Turkey and the Kurds - a complicated relationship in 70 seconds "After all the fulminating about Syria's humanitarian catastrophe, they're inventing reasons not to act to avoid another catastrophe," the official said. "This isn't how a Nato ally acts while hell is unfolding a stone's throw from their border." US Secretary of State John Kerry is also reported by the New York Times to have had "multiple phone calls" with Turkey's prime minister and foreign minister in an effort to resolve the border crisis. line At the scene: BBC's Paul Adams on Syria-Turkey border Air strikes took centre stage on Tuesday, apparently bringing the IS advance to a juddering halt. With jets overhead for long periods, IS clearly had to spend time under cover to avoid being hit. As a result, there was nothing like the intensity of fighting seen on Monday. At times, Kobane seemed eerily quiet. Significantly, it seems the Kurdish defenders of Kobane are now communicating directly with US-led coalition forces. But air strikes alone may not be enough to stop IS taking Kobane in the long run. The Kurdish YPG militia claims to have the upper hand in street fighting, but it is outnumbered and outgunned by IS. Only a ground operation, or significant military assistance from Turkey could carry any guarantee of success, and the prospects for this seem remote. Turkey's conditions are not ones the US seems ready to accommodate. Kobane: Too little too late? Surviving on the Turkey-Syria border line The US military said the most recent air strikes had destroyed four IS armed vehicles and an "IS unit", and damaged one IS tank and one armoured vehicle. However, the BBC's Paul Adams, on the Syria-Turkey border, says more air strikes on Tuesday afternoon - bringing the total to eight for the day - were by far the most sustained coalition action in the area. He says that as a result, fighting in the city died down considerably - it was quiet but for occasional crackles of gunfire in the afternoon. Diyarbakir was one of the Turkish cities that witnessed Kurdish protests Kurds also threw stones at the Turkish military, which remains stationary at the border Speaking on a visit to a refugee camp for Syrians on Tuesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said air power alone could not defeat IS: "We had warned the West. We wanted three things: no-fly zone, a secure zone parallel to that, and the training of moderate Syrian rebels." He said that "the terror will not be over... unless we co-operate for a ground operation", although he gave no further details. Across Turkey on Tuesday, Kurds vented their anger at the government's lack of military support for the defenders of Kobane. line Analysis: BBC's Mark Lowen in Istanbul The crisis in Kobane is reawakening the ghosts of the civil war between Turkey and the Kurds. While Islamic State tightens its grip on Kobane, Turkey is still holding fire on deploying troops. It remains reluctant to help the Kurdish militia in Syria, which has close links with Kurdish fighters here. And the Turkish government has again called for the US-led coalition to target the Assad regime as well as IS - and for a no-fly zone to ease the refugee influx into Turkey. But neither goal seems within reach, the US state department reiterating that the air strikes remained focused on IS alone. The Kurds say Turkey's failure to act will lead to the fall of Kobane. line Police used tear gas and water cannon as unrest spread to at least six south-eastern cities. Dozens of Kurdish demonstrators also smashed a glass door and entered the European Parliament in Brussels. Hundreds more protesters demonstrated in Berlin and other German cities. In New York, the UN's special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, said the Syrian Kurds had defended Kobane with great courage and the international community should now take concrete action to support them, although he did not say whether he thought ground troops should join the fight. Protesters believe that Turkey is not doing enough to save Kobane from IS -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
