The Fall of Kobani on ISIS Hands, Blame Being Put on Turkey
It won't be long. Kobani will fall soon in the hands of the blood-hungry radical extremists ISIS. And more bloodshed will ensure once it steps into Turkish soil.
In fact, as of early evening on Tuesday, the ISIS black flag was already seen flying on Kobani, the town that separates Syria from Turkey. "Kobani is about to fall," the AP quoted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
People are angry. The series of airstrikes sent by the U.S.-led coalition, limiting the movements of the jihadi fighters, albeit momentarily, were deemed late to save the town. Abdul Azziz, a Kurdish resident from the city, said the airstrikes should have occurred weeks ago, "before ISIS entered Kobani." The violence of Syria's civil war has gotten its way to Turkey's doorstep.
The U.S. likewise felt cheated that Turkey, while saying it won't let the town fall in the hands of the ISIS, didn't also lift a finger to join in the efforts to stop the group from advancing into Kobani. Mr Erdogan has said that before they dip into the fray and send their soldiers into the battlefield, they would want greater support be first extended to the rebels fighting to dislodge Syrian president Bashar al-Assad from his seat.
Only then will they take action. The U.S. said it's a different ball game all together. An unidentified Washington senior administration official cited by the New York Time said Turkey is "inventing reasons not to act to avoid another catastrophe."
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Once Kobani officially falls in the hands of the ISIS, it won't also be long that beheadings and massacres of civilians and Kurdish fighters will follow suit. To date, some 200,000 people have fled to Turkey to escape the extremists. At least over 400 have died because of the senseless fighting, according to activists.
The fall of Kobani into ISIS would also prove detrimental to NATO as part of its frontier and guardianship is in the hands of a crazy bunch of extremists. "This isn't how a NATO ally acts while hell is unfolding a stone's throw from their border," the unidentified Washington senior administration official said.
NBC News reported that Turkey is actually well-equipped to defend Kobani from the advancing ISIS, what with the long border it shares with Syria plus its military bases which the U.S.-led coalition can use anytime.
David Schenker, director of the program on Arab politics at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, flatly told NBC News Turkey's participation to help eradicate the ISIS has been "insufficiently helpful."
It remains to be seen though if Washington and NATO will risk a split with Turkey.