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| Syrian rebels enter Kobani from Turkey | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| A small group of Syrian rebels entered the embattled border town of Kobani from Turkey on Wednesday on a mission to help Kurdish fighters battling Islamic State (Isis) in Syria, activists and Kurdish officials have said. | |
| The group of about 50 armed men is from the Free Syrian Army (FSA), and is separate from Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters, who are also en route to Kobani, along the Syrian-Turkish border. | |
| Idriss Nassan, a Kurdish official from Kobani, said the FSA group had crossed to Kobani through the Mursitpinar border crossing in Turkey. Nassan, who spoke in Mursitpinar, said they had travelled in cars but did not have more details. | |
| Reports on Wednesday morning in the Turkish media that dozens of peshmerga fighters had also crossed the border were later retracted. | |
| A convoy of 150 peshmerga troops arrived in Turkey from Iraq at Habur early on Wednesday, where they were met by enthusiastic crowds and Turkish security forces. The convoy is carrying heavy artillery and weapons along with armoured vehicles and ambulances. | |
| Last week Turkey agreed to let the Iraqi-Kurdish fighters cross through its territory following international pressure to take greater action against Isis militants across its borders. The Turkish government said it would only allow peshmerga fighters to enter Kobani and not those affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK), which is outlawed in Turkey and listed as a terrorist group by the US and the EU. Turkey views fighters from YPG (Syrian People’s Defence Corps), who are fending off Isis militants, as being loyal to the PKK. | Last week Turkey agreed to let the Iraqi-Kurdish fighters cross through its territory following international pressure to take greater action against Isis militants across its borders. The Turkish government said it would only allow peshmerga fighters to enter Kobani and not those affiliated with the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK), which is outlawed in Turkey and listed as a terrorist group by the US and the EU. Turkey views fighters from YPG (Syrian People’s Defence Corps), who are fending off Isis militants, as being loyal to the PKK. |
| Kobani officials have said that local YPG commanders were in contact with the peshmerga fighters to coordinate their strategies. | Kobani officials have said that local YPG commanders were in contact with the peshmerga fighters to coordinate their strategies. |
| According to Turkish media reports, the border crossing by peshmerga fighters is being overseen by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organisation instead of its military, which is in charge of border security. “The Turkish armed forces do not want to give the impression of being in charge of the peshmerga transit,” military sources told the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet. | According to Turkish media reports, the border crossing by peshmerga fighters is being overseen by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organisation instead of its military, which is in charge of border security. “The Turkish armed forces do not want to give the impression of being in charge of the peshmerga transit,” military sources told the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet. |
| Last week the Iraqi Kurdish regional government (KRG) approved deployment of peshmerga forces to the beleaguered Syrian Kurdish enclave of Kobani. A Kurdish government spokesman later said the fighters would provide artillery support rather than engage in combat with Isis militants. | Last week the Iraqi Kurdish regional government (KRG) approved deployment of peshmerga forces to the beleaguered Syrian Kurdish enclave of Kobani. A Kurdish government spokesman later said the fighters would provide artillery support rather than engage in combat with Isis militants. |
| Mustafa Sayid Qader, peshmerga affairs minister for the KRG, said the fighters sent to Kobani would fight under “the direct command of his ministry”, adding that they were well trained and armed with advanced weapons. | Mustafa Sayid Qader, peshmerga affairs minister for the KRG, said the fighters sent to Kobani would fight under “the direct command of his ministry”, adding that they were well trained and armed with advanced weapons. |
| The US – which has repeatedly called on its Nato ally Turkey to provide more than humanitarian support to the Syrian Kurdish enclave – welcomed the peshmerga deployment calling it a “step to degrade and ultimately defeat” Isis. | |
| Damascus also welcomed the deployment. | Damascus also welcomed the deployment. |
| “The Islamic State is the enemy of humanity and everyone else and we see sending the peshmerga to Kobani as positive. The Kurds need to support their brethren,” Ali Haidar, the Syrian national reconciliation minister, told the Iraqi-Kurdish news site Rudaw. | “The Islamic State is the enemy of humanity and everyone else and we see sending the peshmerga to Kobani as positive. The Kurds need to support their brethren,” Ali Haidar, the Syrian national reconciliation minister, told the Iraqi-Kurdish news site Rudaw. |
| Isis has been laying siege to Kobani since mid-September, forcing an estimated 200,000 people to flee into Turkey. | |
| • This article was amended on 29 October 2014. Earlier reports that peshmerga fighters had crossed into Syria were retracted. This has been reflected in the copy and furniture |