Dutch television news (RTL Nieuws) has just reported that a large part of the Kurdish city Kobani in Syria, right on the Turkish border, is now under the control of the Islamic State terrorist group.
Volgens een andere functionaris hebben de terroristen enkele gebouwen aan de oostkant van de stad veroverd, ondanks de voortdurende luchtaanvallen door de Amerikanen. Er zijn ook berichten dat IS al een groot deel van de stad, zo niet het grootste deel, in handen heeft. Dat vertelt onder meer de vertaler van correspondent Roel Geeraedts. Die vertaler is een Koerd die uit Kobani komt.
Freely translated: One officer says the terrorists have captured several buildings on the east side of town, despite ongoing American air strikes. There are also reports that IS already controls a large part of the town, if not most of the town.
There has been fighting around Kobani for some time now, inside it since the last few days. The fighting has been going on for weeks, however now it seems to be just a matter of time before the city falls entirely, according to several sources, including CNN.
In blocking the resupply of the Kurdish fighters who are trying desperately to hold off a siege by Islamic State in Kobani, Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is making a decision that may haunt Turkey for years to come.
Words not to be taken lightly. Turkey is a candidate for EU membership and a NATO member, yet such key humane values as helping your neighbour seem completely lost on them in this conflict. As ABC News reports:
If this is what's needed for the Kurdish people to get the help and assistance - and yes, the boots on the ground - they so desperately need, what has the world come to?
Volgens een andere functionaris hebben de terroristen enkele gebouwen aan de oostkant van de stad veroverd, ondanks de voortdurende luchtaanvallen door de Amerikanen. Er zijn ook berichten dat IS al een groot deel van de stad, zo niet het grootste deel, in handen heeft. Dat vertelt onder meer de vertaler van correspondent Roel Geeraedts. Die vertaler is een Koerd die uit Kobani komt.
Freely translated: One officer says the terrorists have captured several buildings on the east side of town, despite ongoing American air strikes. There are also reports that IS already controls a large part of the town, if not most of the town.
There has been fighting around Kobani for some time now, inside it since the last few days. The fighting has been going on for weeks, however now it seems to be just a matter of time before the city falls entirely, according to several sources, including CNN.
(CNN) -- U.S. airstrikes "are not going to save" the key Syrian city of Kobani from being overtaken by ISIS, Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. John Kirby said Wednesday.
"I think we all should be steeling ourselves for that eventuality," he told reporters in a daily briefing.
Heroic Kurdish men and women have been bravely battling Islamic State terrorists to keep Kobani (Ayn al-Arab) and the surrounding area in Kurdish hands. America carries out bombings, yet Turkey - from where they can SEE Kobani, sits back while IS slaughters the Kurdish people. The Blooomberg Review calls it as it is:
In blocking the resupply of the Kurdish fighters who are trying desperately to hold off a siege by Islamic State in Kobani, Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is making a decision that may haunt Turkey for years to come.
Words not to be taken lightly. Turkey is a candidate for EU membership and a NATO member, yet such key humane values as helping your neighbour seem completely lost on them in this conflict. As ABC News reports:
Turkey is ambivalent about the fight across its border, because of its distrust of the Kurdish fighters protecting Kobani, also known as Ayn Arab. It views them as an extension of the Kurdish PKK, the rebel group that has waged a long and bloody insurgency against Ankara. In recent days, Turkish officials have emphasized that they view both the Islamic State group and the PKK as terrorist groups.
Left unsaid is which group they view as the greater threat. But, Turkey's strict neutrality as the lightly-armed Kurds face annihilation speaks volumes.Turkey's inaction as the Kurds face annihilation indeed speaks volumes. It disgusts me that a country looking to become a member of the European Union is apparently so far removed from basic values we hold dear in Europe. We care for others, we help them in time of need, we act to protect the weak from the strong and the oppressor, we fight together against totalitarian regimes - to me, those are key values that we hold dear in the countries that make up the European Union as a whole. Or maybe it is just me who holds those values dear, says a pessimistic voice in my mind.
Kurds fighting for their lives in #Kobani don't need tanks, they need shovels. Hit oil and the sky will fill with #NATO jets in a heartbeat.
If this is what's needed for the Kurdish people to get the help and assistance - and yes, the boots on the ground - they so desperately need, what has the world come to?