[While the addition of some 150 peshmerga fighters, as well as reinforcements from the U.S.-backed Free Syrian Army, are not expected to turn the tide, their arrival is still seen as a symbol of unlikely unity.]
http://mashable.com/2014/11/02/kobani-isis/ Peshmerga forces provide much-needed help to fight ISIS in Kobani Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters cheer as they leave the outskirts of Suruc, Turkey, toward the Turkey-Syria border, on the way to the Syrian city of Kobani, on Friday, Oct. 31, 2014. Image: Vadim Ghirda/Associated Press By Emily Feldman14 hours ago ISTANBUL, Turkey -- After days of anticipation, a convoy of reinforcements arrived this weekend in the Syrian town of Kobani (also known as Kobane), boosting morale among Kurdish forces there who have been fighting Islamic State militants for more than a month. Peshmerga forces from neighboring Iraq entered the town late Friday night, bringing with them superior weapons Kobani officials say are needed to break a nearly 50-day siege. By Saturday night they had already gotten to work, targeting Islamic State, or ISIS, positions with rocket artillery, according to a statement from forces defending the town. See also: Peshmerga troops enter Kobani to fight ISIS "Since last week the atmosphere has been more positive. The morale is higher," said Kurdish journalist Barzan Iso who is in Kobane and spent three nights waiting up for their arrival. With extremists surrounding the town on three sides, peshmerga forces had to enter Kobani from Turkey, where they arrived earlier this week. Mobs of supporters lined the streets in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast to cheer on the procession of military vehicles driving toward the Syrian border. While similar fanfare did not erupt in Kobani -- where the threat of ISIS attack deterred peshmerga forces from broadcasting exactly when they would enter -- fighters and the few civilians who have not fled the town were no less eager for them to come. "Everyone is looking forward to their arrival because of their weaponry and ammunition," "Everyone is looking forward to their arrival because of their weaponry and ammunition," Idris Nassan, Kobani's deputy foreign minister said Friday afternoon, hours before they crossed. "The peshmerga will give more power to Kobane's resistance and will be another reason for Kobane to receive more ammunition and weapons." The U.S. and its coalition partners have been bombing ISIS targets in Kobani for weeks and recently airdropped aid, ammunition and light weapons to fighters defending the town. Still, the assistance has not been enough to tip the balance in a battle that has transformed a once-obscure town into a symbol of the international fight against ISIS. "ISIS has been trying very hard to make progress and take control of the border crossing," Nassan said. "The YPG is trying hard to resist and the airstrikes have been intensive. But there are clashes all the time." The U.S. and its allies have been reluctant to send ground troops to take on ISIS in either Syria or Iraq, fearing a high death toll and vulnerability to retaliatory attacks. In the case of Kobani, the political stakes have been even higher. The Kurdish town is defended by the People's Protection Units or YPG -- a group with close links to a designated terrorist organization, the Kurdistan Worker's Party or PKK. Turkey, which has been at war with the PKK over Kurdish rights for 30 years, has been hesitant to provide direct support to the group's partners in Kobani. Other countries have followed Turkey's lead. In the meantime, Kobani supporters -- including many of its residents who fled just over the border -- have watched helplessly as ISIS maneuvers its heavy weapons outside the town. Fighters defending Kobani, with just light weapons at their disposal, have repeatedly warned that they could not save the town themselves. While the addition of some 150 peshmerga fighters, as well as reinforcements from the U.S.-backed Free Syrian Army, are not expected to turn the tide, their arrival is still seen as a symbol of unlikely unity. Though Turkish officials have complained that the intense focus on Kobani distracts from other key fronts in the Syrian war, the fact that Turkey even allowed Kurdish forces and weapons to transit its territory for the sake of the town is remarkable. So is the partnership between the YPG and peshmerga -- two Kurdish groups that have had their differences in the past. "For sure ISIS isn't just going to run away. The peshmerga are not magicians," Iso said. "But [their crossing] is a very symbolic step. It symbolizes that the enemy is the same." Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments. -- 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.
