New Statesman

America airdropped weapons, ammunition and medical supplies for the first time to Syrian Kurds in Kobane, US Central Command said Sunday, as the fierce battle for the key city continued to rage. Tanks and armoured vehicles were deployed to impose curfews in the predominantly Kurdish cities of Diyarbakir, Batman, Bingol, and Van, as well as other areas. Mr Erdogan's calculation that the Kurds cannot afford to open a second front against Turkey kobane news while they are grappling with the jihadists is being tested. Mr Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development party may be hurt by the turmoil, especially if it scares off foreign investors before parliamentary elections due to be held next summer. The YPG Press Center has released a statement providing information about the YPG operation that has been going on in Serêkaniyê since last Saturday. The operation has reached a new phase now as YPG forces are launching offensive attacks in Rawiya and Dehma and another area after having broken the ISIS defensive line and seizing many positions of theirs. The statement added that two YPG fighters have fallen while fighting ISIS gangs in last night's operation.

International efforts to achieve a Syrian-led transition remain the EU's priority in order to maintain the country's unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity while preserving its multi-ethnic and multi-religious character. There cannot be lasting peace in Syria if the legitimate grievances of all ordinary Syrians, including those belonging to ethnic and religious groups, including the Kurds, are not addressed. 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 kobane news 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. Some observers pointed out that the perceived policy shift in Ankara was no surprise and pointed to a string of violent protests that shook Turkey two weeks ago in response to the government's perceived inaction over the crisis in Kobani. Similar scenes were repeated in cities across the country as Kurdish leaders and Turkish leftists called for mass demonstrations in solidarity with Kobane. Gone are the days when Islamic State, also known as ISIS, was able to seize territory in both countries with relative ease. Its newfound problems, including a loss of oil revenue, raise questions about the extent to which it will be able to continue recruiting fighters who want to be with a winner. Under pressure from the United States, Turkey agreed last week to allow the peshmerga to reinforce the town. The US coalition has stepped up air strikes against the Islamist militants around Kobane - but Mr Blinkin warned that the priority would continue to be to attack IS's infrastructure which reinforced its campaigning in Iraq. YPG, YPJ and peshmerga commanders answered questions from local and foreign reporters at the press conference. Dijwar Xebat and Hebûn Derik spoke on behalf of the YPG/YPJ Commands and Ehmed Kurdî spoke on behalf of the peshmerga forces. On Wednesday, YPG commanders, fighters, and activists in Kobane described the situation in and around the city — only a few hundred feet from the Turkish border — as increasingly desperate. After an early morning offensive, the jihadists had moved to within six to ten kilometres kobane news of the town, Hesen said in a phone call with a reporter from Bloomberg Businessweek and two colleagues. The most intense clashes were taking place on the southern front, he said, where the Kurds were trying to hang on to a key stronghold, a hill overlooking the city. So if you're that potential IS recruit in Tunis, you're watching the news from Kobane, but you're watching it your way. You don't worry too much about the atrocity stories coming out about IS. Young men have a great tolerance, let us say, for such things. In fact, many of them have a great deal more than tolerance—something more like enthusiasm, and I speak from my own embarrassing experience of a celibate adolescence.