Pesh Merga Forces Join Kobani Fight Against Islamic State

Pesh Merga Forces Join Kobani Fight Against Islamic State

It seems that for the first time since the Islamic State started the campaign to take over the Syrian town of Kobani, the local troops defending it will get some much needed reinforcements. Approximately 150 Pesh Merga troops from Iraqi Kurdistan will be joining Kobani defenders in their fight against ISIS, after Turkey agreed to open its borders and allow reinforcements for the besieged town.

The soldiers are expected to arrive in Kobani this Tuesday night and help tip the scale in a fight that has already been going on for over a month. Turkey announced free borders for reinforcements for over a week, however, the exact cause for the delayed arrival of reinforcements has not yet been explained.

Kurdish defenders that have been fighting in Kobani didn’t seem too keen on receiving outside help, particularly from rival Kurdish factions before the ISIS attack. The Kurdish People’s Protection Units insisted that if given enough guns and ammunition they could protect the town of Kobani without exterior help while also adding that outside help might risk more attention from ISIS in the area.

U.S. military forces carried out over 100 airstrikes on ISIS forces in Kobani and supplied local defenders with ammunition and weapons through airdrops, yet, after one month of fighting the terrorist organization has managed to take over more than half of this crucial border city.

Posted by James Fried on Thursday October 30 2014, 5:40 AM EDT. Ref: New York Times. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0