For Iraq, Kobani Reinforcements ′Only Temporary′

The Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) has suffered setbacks and has begun retreating from parts of the Syrian border town of Kobani, according to a local official, who said Kurdish forces were advancing against the militant group. Since the start of the war in Syria in early 2011, the number of people fleeing the country has swelled to more than 3 million - half of them children. But the US has accepted only a miniscule few - just 36 in 2013. The US - which traditionally accepts more refugees than any other country- has resettled 191 Syrian refugees since March 2011, although the vast majority of these applied for resettlement before the conflict broke out, a State Department spokesperson said in an email. Tensions have also been growing between the US and Erdoğan's regime. The US ruling class is increasingly unhappy with Turkey, a fellow NATO member. Washington believes Turkey has been backing the very forces the US has been bombing for the last few weeks, illustrating the unwillingness of some of US's partners in the misnamed Coalition of the willing”. A small advance party was reported to have entered the town to coordinate the arrival of their comrades. And I would like to add one more thing. These clashes are not confined to these two groups. There have been many demonstrations that are outside of the predominantly Kurdish areas. And in this provinces, we've seen many clashes between ultranationalists or Turkish fascists and, again, the supporters of the Kobani resistance. And this is very, very alarming. This has led to a significant polarization in the country, and it seems that Turkey's primed for much more violence and polarization. The prosecutor's statement says they organized the transfer of fighters through a Muslim-dominated region in southwest Serbia to Turkey and on to training camps in Syria. Islamic State (Isis) fighters were moving in on Kobani's outskirts on Tuesday after puncturing the Kurdish frontline late on Monday , but Kurdish fighters appeared to be holding the centre of the city against the advance. Combat positions were destroyed and 16 buildings hit in the strikes. Kurdish fighters have been under siege in Kobane, near the Turkish border, for almost a month. The coalition has stepped up strikes in the region in recent days, in an effort to prevent IS from capturing the strategically important town. Iraqi troops are battling IS on two fronts - Ramadi, west of Baghdad, and near Tikrit, Saddam's home town. In a message released last Tuesday, Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned PKK leader, said that the peace process engaged at the start of 2013 between the PKK and the Turkish state had moved on to a new stage”, adding that he was now more optimistic”. This statement was made just after the anger of the Kurdish population of Turkey had exploded onto the scene, showing that the mass of the Kurds do not seem to share these optimistic views. Meanwhile, violent incidents involving Turkish state forces and Kurdish militants multiplied in recent weeks. Last year Barzani the conservative leader of Iraqi Kurdistan called for the unification of all Kurdish people in one single country,” one man adds. But the PKK disagrees with this plan, because such kobane news a state will eventually be no different from the Turkish Republic. Greenhill adds that a teacher from Kobane claimed he heard two fighters in the city who were bragging about their British heritage.

Islamic State group jihadists were in control Thursday of more than one-third of the Syrian border town of Kobane after pushing back its Kurdish defenders, a monitoring group said. In an indication kobane news of the tensions that remain between Washington and and Ankara on how to deal with the Islamic State group, Erdogan said he could not understand why Kobane was so strategic for the United States. Washington has hailed encouraging” signs, although it warned that Kobane could still fall, with the fight against IS in Iraq remaining the priority. The border with Turkey is vital for Kurdish fighters since it is their sole avenue for resupply and the only escape route for remaining civilians, with 200,000 refugees fleeing Kobane since mid-September. Overnight, coalition air strikes on IS targets elsewhere in Syria killed 10 civilians, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.