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Refugees flee from battle in Kobane to Turkey

0 Comment(s)Print E-mail CNTV, October 20, 2014
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The battle for the Syrian Kurdish border town of Kobane is still raging. The fate of Kobane is seen as an important test for the campaign against the Islamic State. However, it exists merely as a ghost-town now. The United Nations estimates that fewer than 700 of its residents remain. The others have fled to safety in Turkey, living in make-shift refugee camps.

Newly arrived Syrian Kurdish refugees sit in a truck with their belongings after crossing into Turkey from the Syrian border town Kobani, near the southeastern Turkish town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province on October 7, 2014 near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, Turkey. 

The battle for Kobane rages on. A night of fierce clashes continued into Sunday as ISIL militants reportedly launched more than 40 mortar shells at Kurdish soldiers. Yet, heavy fighting backed by U.S.-led airstrikes destroyed dozens of terrorist targets. Refugees in Turkey are encouraged by the recent gains by the Kurdish People's Protection Unit or YPG.

"God willing, of course I am happy, and we will be able to go back to Kobane, and this fight will end I hope so," Syrian Kurd Abdulrahman Atakaya said.

But others know the situation could change.

"We have been fighting against ISIS, so we know how they think. Of course they are withdrawing in order to draw all the YPG fighters out of Kobane and then launch the main attack against them," Syrian Kurd Mahmoud Naif said.

Meanwhile, Turkey has said it would not support the transfer of U-S arms to Kurdish fighters, linked to the PKK, a Kurdish militant group that Turkey has fought a civil war with for three decades.

However, Ankara continues to support more than one point six million Syrian refugees who have fled Syria.

A few miles away from the fighting, U-N Humanitarian Chief Valerie Amos visited a camp in Suruc on Sunday where thousands of Syrian Kurds are finding refuge.

"The local authorities, the national authorities, particularly AFAD (Turkish Disaster Management Agency), U.N. agencies and international and national NGOs have come together very quickly and hard to give as much support to people as possible," Amos said.

Near 200,000 refugees from Kobane have entered Turkey since the ISIL onset began a month ago.

There are thousands of civilians said to still be in the besieged town as the war rages around them.

People continue to gather on the hills overlooking Kobane. While the U-S led air strikes and Kurdish fighters have stalled new ISIL advances, they know the battle is far from over. Both sides are bringing in reinforcements and have vowed to fight to the end.

 

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