Tens of Thousands Flee as ISIS Nears Key Kurd Border Town

PKK Pushes West to Provide More Arms for Battle

The influx of refugees into southern Turkey from the Kurdish border town of Ayn al-Arab (aka Kobane) grew once again today, with tens of thousands more fleeing as ISIS continues to near the town itself.

ISIS began its latest push over a week ago with villages in the vicinity, and as of last night were around 5 km from Ayn al-Arab. Today, Kurdish officials report they are less than 3 km away, and continuing to advance.

Kurdish factions are claiming some minor gains along the Iraq/Syria border, but loses are mounting over the strategically and psychologically important town of Ayn al-Arab, with the PKK-led Kurds pushing for more aid.

Saleh Muslim, a top leader in the PKK’s political wing, claims that the US and other nations have rebuffed aid claims because of Turkish opposition, and claims the town will face a massacre if they don’t get more arms. With more than 150,000 having fled to Turkey already, it isn’t clear how many civilians are even left to massacre.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.