Kobani Is Not Alone If Syrian Opposition Pledges Help In Fighting ISIS

By Staff Reporter | Oct 31, 2014 08:30 AM EDT

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Kobani is not alone in fighting ISIS even though the people of the Syrian town have been outnumbered and outgunned. With the help of the coalition, Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters and Syrian opposition, the besieged border town can be saved.

The Islamic State militants have launched an all-out attack to the town despite intensified US-led airstrikes campaign. For weeks, US warplanes have been blasting ISIS positions near Kobani. However, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said airstrikes alone will not be enough to ward off the vicious jihadists.

"Saving Kobani, retaking Kobani and some area around Kobani from ISIS, there's a need for a military operation," Davutoglu said in a BBC broadcasted interview on Tuesday. He also stressed out that neither Turkey nor Western allies would commit troops.

"If they (international coalition) don't want to send their ground troops, how can they expect Turkey to send Turkish ground troops with the same risks on our border," the Turkish prime minister continued.

Turkey's southeastern border, Kobani, has been surrounded by the ISIS militants for over a month. And Kobani has not been alone in fighting the extremists. However, Reuters reported the battle to save the town has become a challenge for the US-led coalition's plan of stopping the terrorists' advance.

The siege of the Syrian border town by the ISIS has not been able to break the resistance of Kobani's fighters. According to The New York Times, Kobani is not alone in defending a democratic, secular society of Kurds, Arabs, Muslims and Christians, who all face a looming massacre.

Meanwhile, Turkish authorities have snubbed global criticisms over their reluctance to help Kobani's struggling Kurdish fighters, whom they say are linked to the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has battled decades long rebellion against the Turkish state.

After pressure from Western allies, Turkey finally agreed to let Iraqi peshmerga troops to cross its territory en route Kobani as its preferred alternative to US planes airdropping weapons to the town's Kurdish fighters.

There have no coalition allies that publicly called on Turkey to intercede militarily but images of Turkish army standing by as ISIS advanced just across the border have grabbed criticisms.

The arrival of the troops highlighted a remarkable turn in Kobani's fate, which according to The Guardian, seemed all but doomed to an agonizing surrender, as tens of thousands of refugees fled across the border in panic ahead of a swift advance by ISIS.

Kurdish forces' skillful defense of Kobani led to hope that the town is not alone and defeat might not be inevitable. The besieged town gained time to mobilize support globally through reports about ISIS' violence and the heroism of its defenders.

The US forces has been committed on arming the Syrian opposition to fight against ISIS.  And the people in Kobani will not be alone against the extremists because they sought the world's attention and help.

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