This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/28/iraq-kurdish-fighters-fly-turkey-kobani-peshmerga-syria-isis

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 2 Version 3
Iraqi Kurdish fighters to fly to Turkey before crossing into Kobani Iraqi Kurdish fighters to fly to Turkey before crossing into Kobani
(about 4 hours later)
Dozens of Iraqi Kurdish fighters are to fly to Turkey and from there cross into the Syrian border town of Kobani to help fellow Kurds fight Islamic State (Isis) militants, a spokesman for the Kurdish force has said. Scores of heavily armed Kurdish peshmerga are expected in the embattled Syrian town of Kobani early on Wednesday after Turkey performed a surprise U-turn and agreed to allow them to enter its territory to prevent the fall of the town to Islamic State (Isis) jihadis.
Halgurd Hekmat said the peshmerga fighters will leave the city of Irbil, in Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdish region, later on Tuesday. He gave no further details. A convoy of peshmerga left the Iraqi-Kurdish capital Irbil to join forces with fighters in Syria pushing back the attack by Isis militants on Kobani, a Kurdish town on Syria’s northern border with Turkey. About 150 fighters carrying heavy weaponry, including long-range missiles, are expected to enter the town, along with armoured vehicles and ambulances.
Last week, the Iraqi Kurdish government authorised the peshmerga to go to neighbouring Syria and help fellow Kurds combat Isis fighters in Kobani. A total of 150 peshmerga troops were authorised to go to Kobani through Turkey. Asya Abdullah, co-chair of the People’s Democratic party (PYD) in Kobani, said the administration had little information about the the peshmerga: “This is a military matter. The YPG [Syrian People’s Defence Corps] fighters are in contact with the peshmerga leadership. They are planning this together.”
Ankara, which has angered Kurdish leaders and frustrated Washington by refusing to allow fighters or weapons into Kobani via Turkey, said last week it would help the Iraqi peshmerga cross into Syria. She voiced satisfaction with the support from the Iraqi Kurdish government: “This is a good development. It is not the first time the YPG and the peshmerga have fought together [against Isis]. Their backing will help Kobani.”
On Tuesday afternoon, a large convoy with heavy weapons was seen in Irbil, driving towards the Iraqi Kurdish area of Dohuk. Last week the Iraqi Kurdish regional government approved military support for Kobani. Despite fierce resistance Isis has captured hundreds of villages around Kobani and controls part of the town. About 800 people are said to have died and an estimated 200,000 have fled to Turkey.
The convoy was moving by land and it was not immediately clear whether the fighters had left or would leave on a plane and the convoy would drive to Turkey. According to Turkish media reports, the convoy of 80 vehicles is expected to enter Turkey through the Habur border gate from where it will follow the main road along the Turkish-Syrian border to Suruç and Kobani.
Idriss Nassan, a Kurdish official from Kobani, said they have no confirmation that peshmerga fighters were to arrive on Tuesday. “We have no information other than what we are reading on social media or hearing on the news,” he said by phone from Turkey. The remaining Kurdish combatants will fly into Sanliurfa at midnight and drive to Kobani from there.
He added that the peshmerga command might have direct contact with the Syrian Kurdish force known as the Peoples’ Protection Units, or YPG, and for that reason Kurdish politicians in Syria were not aware of the movement. A US-led military coalition has been conducting air strikes on and around Kobani for several weeks. Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in a TV interview on Tuesday that air strikes alone would not be enough to repel Isis militants and that a ground operation was indispensable to retake the town.
Isis launched its offensive on Kobani and nearby villages in mid-September in battles that have killed more than 800 people, according to activists. “Saving Kobani, retaking Kobani and some area around Kobani from Isis, there’s a need for a military operation,” he said in an interview with the BBC, adding that nobody should expect Turkey to send ground troops to Syria without commitment from Nato allies. The Turkish government has argued that support for “moderate opposition forces” was the only way to gain ground in Syria.
The extremists captured dozens of Kurdish villages around Kobani and now also control parts of the town. More than 200,000 people have fled the fighting into Turkey.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the US-led coalition carried out three air strikes on Kobani in Tuesday, adding that they targeted a gathering of Isis fighters.