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Isis flags raised in Kobani near Turkish-Syrian border Isis flags raised in Kobani near Turkish-Syrian border
(about 3 hours later)
The black flag of Isis was raised on the outskirts of the Kurdish Syrian town of Kobani on Monday afternoon as the Turkish army continued to push onlookers away from the nearby border with a show of force and tear gas. The black flag of Isis was raised on the outskirts of the Kurdish Syrian town of Kobani on Monday afternoon as reports said Islamist fighters had advanced into the city after days of fighting.
As fighting continued within the town, a female Kurdish fighter blew herself up in a suicide attack, killing 10 Isis fighters and wounded more, a Kurdish commander said. From the Turkish border, the jihadi flag could be seen flying from a four-storey building on the east of the town close to the scene of some of the fiercest clashes. Moments later another flag was raised on a nearby hill.
Crowds lining the road about three kilometres away from Kobani watched on Monday afternoon as the jihadis’ black flag went up on the hill only moments after another was raised on a building next to the hill. The spectators pointed it out and binoculars were handed around for a better look. The mood was subdued. Inside Kobani, known as Ain al‑Arab in Arabic, street battles raged between Kurdish fighters and the Isis force. The town and surrounding areas have been under attack since mid-September, with Isis militants capturing dozens of Kurdish villages. The assault has forced about 160,000 Syrians to flee and strained Kurdish forces, who have struggled to push back the extremists, despite being aided by US-led coalition air strikes.
Inside Kobani, which is known as Ain al‑Arab in Arabic, Kurdish fighters and their supporters were continuing to hold Isis back. The town and surrounding areas have been under attack since mid-September, with Isis militants capturing dozens of nearby Kurdish villages. The assault has forced some 160,000 Syrians to flee and strained Kurdish forces, who have struggled to push back the extremists despite being aided by US-led coalition airstrikes. The local government said thousands of Isis fighters were attacking the city centre, and issued a plea for international intervention.
Ismat Sheikh Hassan, a commander of a Kurdish militia, the YPG, said the the Isis flags spotted on the buildings in Kobani were a ruse. “We are calling out to all international powers, forces from Kurdistan and Kurdish public that Isis thugs must be stopped and thousands of civilians must be saved from massacre,” the statement said.
“I know they put an Isis flag on the hill. It is a lie. We want you to know they are not in the city right now. We would prefer to die than to leave Kobani,” he said by phone from inside the town. A Kurdish commander told the Guardian by phone that the Isis flags were a ruse to sap morale among the defending force.
Having called for international support for more than a fortnight, Hassan acknowledged that there had been some action from the US-led coalition to strike Isis closer to Kobani, but he could not confirm whether it would be enough to force the jihadis back. “I know they put an Isis flag on the hill. It is a lie. We want you to know they are not in the city right now. We would prefer to die than to leave Kobani,” said Ismat Sheikh Hassan, a commander of a Kurdish militia, the YPG.
But Parwer Ali Mohamed, a translator for the Kurdish Democratic Union party (PYD), told Reuters more than 2,000 people had fled the city to escape the fighting. “We can hear the sound of clashes on the street,” he said.
According to the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war through a network of sources on the ground, Isis fighters had penetrated about 100 metres into the eastern part of the town.
“The battle has become street fighting, it is happening inside the town, the eastern part of the town,” the Observatory’s Rami Abdelrahman said.
Commander Hassan acknowledged there had been some action from the US-led coalition to strike Isis closer to Kobani, but he could not confirm whether it would be enough to force the jihadis back.
“Yesterday evening there were two bombs [dropped] behind the hill, but we don’t know if they did anything. And we still don’t have any other support,” he said.“Yesterday evening there were two bombs [dropped] behind the hill, but we don’t know if they did anything. And we still don’t have any other support,” he said.
He said there had been casualties on both sides but could not confirm the number. “We are fighting against very heavy weapons and we haven’t got big weapons. We have limited weapons but they have big tanks, big bombs.
Of the female Kurdish fighter who blew herself up in a suicide attack on the Isis forces, Hassan said this was a decision she took on her own. It was not something they allowed her to do nor would they allow any of their other fighters to do, he said.
The cracks of gunfire sounded closer to the Turkish border than in the past 22 days of fighting and stray shells continued to fall inside Turkish territory. Two more clusters of homes were evacuated on Turkish side of the border while the army lined up at least 20 tanks on a hill to the west of Kobani, facing the border.
Hassan’s closing remarks repeated his constant pleas for support. “We are fighting against very heavy weapons and we haven’t got big weapons. We have limited weapons but they have big tanks, big bombs.
“Please show this to the whole world for the world to realise we are fighting with a very strong organisation. We need help,” he said.“Please show this to the whole world for the world to realise we are fighting with a very strong organisation. We need help,” he said.
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and a statement from the Kurdish force known as the People’s Protection Units, or YPG, said more than 45 fighters on both sides were killed Sunday near Kobani, including a Kurdish female fighter who blew herself up, killing several jihadists. Dozens of combatants on both sides were reported to have been killed in Sunday’s fighting, including a Kurdish peshmerga fighter who blew herself up, killing several jihadis.
Crowds gathered along the Turkish border, about 3km from the town, where the crackle of gunfire sounded closer than it has done in the past 22 days of fighting.
Stray shells continued to fall inside Turkish territory. Two more clusters of homes were evacuated on the Turkish side of the border while the army lined up at least 20 tanks on a hill to the west of Kobani, facing the border.
Kurds have come from all over Turkey to witness the fight for Kobani. Huseyin Icin, who works in human rights in the city of Izmir, said he had come to the border to see what he can do to help.
“We have a lot of relatives there: uncles, grandmothers, children, so we have to help each other. Isis is a very wild and strong terrorist organisation,” he said.
Icin echoed a common belief that Turkish security forces are supporting Isis, if only by preventing Kurdish fighters from crossing the border to fight.
“My relatives are there coming under fire from bombs, from tanks, from war, and here is the Turkish tanks and army and they’re not letting us do anything. They only want us to go there to take their corpses,” he said.
One Kurdish woman from the town of Suruc said: “If Isis takes Kobani, all of us will die. If they take that city, they will come here. And if Kobani is taken we will have just two options: we will kill them or they will kill us.