UN chief calls for "immediate action" to protect civilians in northern Syrian town
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E-mail Xinhua, October 7, 2014
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday called for an "immediate action to protect the beleaguered civilian population of Ayn al-Arab," a town in north Syria which has been partly seized by the Islamic State (IS) militants.
"The secretary-general is following with grave concern the ongoing offensive by ISIL (the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) on the northern Syrian town of Ayn al-Arab, which has already resulted in massive displacement of civilians, including into Turkey, and numerous deaths and injuries," said a statement issued by Ban's spokesman, using another acronym of the Islamic State.
The statement said the IS has violated human rights and international law during its "barbarous campaign."
The predominantly Kurdish city of Ayn al-Arab, also known as Kobane, has been subject to ferocious attacks by IS militants over the past two weeks. IS fighters have succeeded in capturing hundreds of Kurdish villages around Kobane, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee.
The jihadist group IS declared a caliphate in June and has seized vast swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria, displacing thousands of people mainly from minority communities.
Adding to the outrage against the group is their release of videos showing the beheading of two American journalists and a British aid worker.
On Monday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that opposes the Syrian government reported that the IS militants captured three neighborhoods in Kobane.
The UK-based watchdog group, which relies on a network of activists on ground, said hundreds of Kurdish people have fled Kobane and moved toward the Turkish borders.
Meanwhile, intense battles are still going on between the Kurds and the IS militants at the southwestern entrance of Kobane as the IS fighters are trying to march on, said the Observatory.
Hundreds of Kurdish fighters have reportedly entered Syria through Turkey and Iraq to defend their fellow Kurds against massive IS offensive on predominantly Kurdish areas in northern Syria.
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