london: Turkey came under new pressure yesterday to help defend the Syrian town of Kobane from Islamic State (IS) fighters, with a warning from the UN that its fall risked another Srebrenica — the 1995 massacre that symbolised the failure of international efforts to stop Bosnia’s war.
Staffan de Mistura, the UN special envoy for Syria, spoke after IS overran the headquarters of the Kurdish militia defending Kobane. “Everybody should do whatever they can to stop this,” he told reporters in Geneva. “I hope we will not see people beheaded.” Thousands could die if Kobane were taken, he said.
The group is already in control of more than half of the border town and if its defenders do not get more ammunition and food it could fall within days, a local activist told The Guardian.
“The Turkish government is not allowing supplies across the border and they are running out of everything, even weapons, that is why Isis are taking over more and more territory,” Mustafa Abdi said.
“When the air strikes attack them and kill five, they send in 50 new fighters.”
Fighters had been issued with knives in case their bullets ran out. No one expected to leave alive if they could not push back the militants.
De Mistura said 500-700 civilians were still trapped in the town, while 10,000 to 13,000 others were stuck close to the border. “You remember Srebrenica. We never forgot and we probably never forgave ourselves for that,” he said. “When there is an imminent threat to civilians we cannot be silent.”
Guardian News
