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Kurds watch helplessly from Turkey the battle for ‘heart of Kurdistan’

Agence France-Presse

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Kurds watch helplessly from Turkey the battle for ‘heart of Kurdistan’
Ethnic Kurds watching the battle feel powerless in what they see as nothing less than a battle for the future of their own people

MURSITPINAR, Turkey – The blasts over the Syrian town of Kobane as Kurdish fighters battle Islamic State (IS) jihadists can be clearly seen and felt the short distance away over the Turkish border.

But ethnic Kurds watching the battle from Turkey feel powerless to help in what they see as nothing less than a battle for the future of their own people.

“This is tearing our heart out. We cannot even get a bag of bread to our comrades fighting over there,” said Mahmut Yildirim, a 55-year-old Turkish Kurd observing the battle from the top of a building.

“Kobane is under siege from all fronts. We are so desperate that we cannot even eat,” he said.

“This is a do-or-die battle. We are merely watching from here.”

The sense of impotence is mixed with fury at the sight of IS jihadists shelling Kobane.

Turkish Kurds say the town, known also as Ain al-Arab in Arabic, holds as much importance to them as Turkey’s largest Kurdish city of Diyarbakir.

The Kurds are the world’s largest stateless people, spread between Iraq, Iran, Syria ,and Turkey after missing out on a state of their own in the border changes after World War I.

Kobane residents have fled into Turkey while outgunned Kurdish fighters try to hold back IS forces using tanks and mortars and advancing from the south, east and west.

On Sunday, October 5, mortars burst through the air, crashing into a home in Turkey and wounding five people. (READ: Five wounded after mortar strikes Turkish territory)

The Turkish parliament on Thursday, October 4, gave the green light for military action against IS but Ankara has taken no steps so far, to the growing annoyance of the Kurds on the border.

That frustration was highlighted Saturday when Turkish security forces used tear gas at the border to disperse a protest of Turkish Kurds.

Some Turkish Kurds even lashed out at media, kicking several media vehicles and throwing stones.

‘Kobane is heart of Kurdistan’

A hill close to the border crossing of Mursitpinar that offers of the best views of the battle has been densely populated by Turkish Kurds, applauding and cheering when Kurdish fighters hit IS targets.

United States-led air strikes against the IS militants fighting for Kobane have yet to turn the tide of the battle in the Kurds’ favour.

For many of those watching the battle, the border is no more than a line on a map. Strong family ties continue to bind Kurds between the two sides.

“The situation in Kobane does not look bright,” grimly commented Dilyar Seyho, 35, who fled to Turkey from Kobane with his mother, brothers and sisters.

“I am hopeful that Kobane will never fall because Kobane is the heart of Kurdistan. The fight will continue even if just one single person remains,” he added.

His mother, Hatice Muhammed Huseyin, said: “If necessary, I will go back to fight. I will not give up on Kobane until the last drop of my blood is shed.”

“The world will never be in peace if Kobane falls,” she warned.

Kurds have accused Turkey of not doing enough to thwart the rise of IS and Kurdish leaders have warned Ankara that the future of its peace process with Kurdish militants depends on saving Kobane.

“Kurds do not distinguish between Kobane and Diyarbakir. The path to peace in Turkey passes through Kobane,” said Sebahat Tuncel, MP for pro-Kurdish HDP party.

The advance of IS on Kobane prompted an influx of some 186,000 mainly Kurdish Syrian refugees to Turkey and Ankara has been hugely wary of allowing any of them back into Syria to fight IS.

The Turkish Kurds who have come to show solidarity with Kobane have come from across southeast Turkey, where most of the country’s Kurdish population of at least 14 million is concentrated.

Salih Ay, 40, came from the town of Silopi in Sirnak province on the Iraqi border which lies several hours drive to the east. Others have even come from Hakkari, even further to the east.

“We came here after coordinating by telephone,” said Ay.

“We came here to stop this massacre. The world is turning a blind eye to it.”  Rappler.com

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