Live
Audio Only
Syria's Kurds issued a statement on Saturday urging international supporters to rally on November 1 to condemn the Islamic State group.
“Everyone needs to help the Kurds. This is a matter of humanity. We therefore need the material and moral support of our friends,” prominent Syrian Kurdish leader Salih Muslim said in a statement published by Hawar News.
Muslim stated that Kobani is in a “desperate situation.”
“There has been solidarity from organizations and the people who can see that the resistance in Kobani is protecting human values against savage attacks.This interest is encouraging, and we appreciate it, but it is insufficient,” he stated, calling for supporters to pressure for greater international aid to the besieged Kurds.
Muslim's statement was issued by the Democratic Union Party (YPD), which is affiliated with Turkey's leftist militant group, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
The call has received support from a number of international Kurdish groups.
One of the main demands of Kurdish organizations is for the international community to arm the Kurdish militia defending Kobani, the YPG.
However, Turkey has refused to allow Kurdish volunteer forces to cross the border to Kobani, due to the YPG's links with the PKK.
This week Turkey did give the non-Kurdish Free Syrian Army permission to cross the border to reinforce Kobani, though Kurds say it isn't enough. Earlier this month, the United Nations' envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, warned that if YPG forces are defeated in Kobani, Kurds in the town could be massacred by the Islamic State group, according to AFP.
“We would like to appeal to the Turkish authorities ... to allow the flow of volunteers at least and their own equipment in order to be able to enter the city and contribute to a self-defense action,” de Mistura stated.
Newsletter
