Turkish security troops clash with Kurds, as thousands flee ISIS

Turkey's security forces closed the border with Syria through which thousands of Kurds are trying to flee IS, after clashes between Kurds and soldiers on the Turkish side of the divide.

The separatist Turkey-based Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is classed as a terrorist organization by Istanbul, called for a solidarity demonstration on Sunday, after 70,000 Kurds crossed from Syria in just 24 hours.

Hundreds of Kurds duly showed up near the barbed wire border fence - some volunteering to join the struggle against IS, others asking to bring over aid to the refugees on the other side of the border.

Clarification: some ppl on Turkish side want to go in and get family, in some cases to fight #IS. Turks won't open the border until they go

— Lizzie Phelan (@LizziePhelan) September 21, 2014

On 1 side Syrian #Kurds try 2 get thru on other Turkiah Kurds trying to convince authorities to let them in. V tense pic.twitter.com/7amnvDK9NB

— Lizzie Phelan (@LizziePhelan) September 21, 2014

As was witnessed by RT's camera crew, Turkish border forces refused to let them pass, and as tensions mounted, attempted to disperse the rally with water cannons and gas grenades.

In turn, the Kurds set up barricades near the checkpoint, and began to throw stones at the uniformed troops.

Hundreds of #gendarmerie. Field behind packed with them #IS #Kurds #Kobane pic.twitter.com/ZQ7SpNwglV

— Lizzie Phelan (@LizziePhelan) September 21, 2014

Meanwhile, the border remained closed, meaning that thousands of refugees were unable to escape to safety, or obtain basic necessities.

Police block road between #Suruc and #Syria border because of nearby clashes between #PYD and #IS pic.twitter.com/CuaYhrkNKD

— Lizzie Phelan (@LizziePhelan) September 21, 2014

The London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that more than 300 Kurdish fighters have crossed into Syria from Turkey lately.

Syrian Kurds walk with their belongings after crossing into Turkey at the Turkish-Syrian border, near the southeastern town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, September 20, 2014 (Reuters / Stringer)

Syrian Kurds have been fleeing to Turkey since Tuesday, when the Islamic State (IS, formerly known as ISIS) launched an offensive operation against Kurd-populated areas in the north of the country. The IS has captured at least 64 villages around the border city of Ayn al-Arab, which Kurds call Kobani.

Town of #Suruc on the border with Syria, everywhere you can see the mass exodus of people from Syria @Ruptly pic.twitter.com/WPj79jNiCM

— Lizzie Phelan (@LizziePhelan) September 21, 2014

According to estimates by the UN’s refugee agency, at least 70,000 Kurds, most of them women, children and elderly people, have fled to Turkey since Saturday alone, and the total may be even higher.

"I don't think in the last three and a half years we have seen 100,000 cross in two days. So this is a bit of a measure of how this situation is unfolding, and the very deep fear people have about the circumstances inside Syria and for that matter, Iraq," Carol Batchelor, UNHCR's representative in Turkey said.

Wedding hall turned camp for #Kurdish refugees fleeing #IS. #Turkey #Syria @ruptly @RuptlyNewsroom pic.twitter.com/Ux70zKz2jb

— Lizzie Phelan (@LizziePhelan) September 21, 2014

Earlier the IS attacked the Kurd territories in the north of Iraq, sending tens of thousands of civilians on the run for their lives. IS has set up a self-proclaimed Sunni caliphate that stretches from Syria to central Iraq, and has established a reign of terror, in an attempt to control huge areas with limited manpower.

A US-led coalition has attempted to counter IS with increasingly intense air strikes for the past month.

Why States Still Use Barrel Bombs

Smoke ascends after a Syrian military helicopter allegedly dropped a barrel bomb over the city of Daraya on Jan. 31.(FADI DIRANI/AFP/Getty Images) Summary Barrel bombs are not especially effective weapons. They are often poorly constructed; they fail to detonate more often than other devices constructed for a similar purpose; and their lack of precision means they can have a disproportionate effect on civilian populations. However, combatants continue to use barrel bombs in conflicts, including in recent and ongoing conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, and they are ideally suited to the requirements of resource-poor states. Analysis Barrel bombs are improvised devices that contain explosive filling and shrapnel packed into a container, often in a cylindrical shape such as a barrel. The devices continue to be dropped on towns all over Syria . Indeed, there have been several documented cases of their use in Iraq over the past months, and residents of the city of Mosul, which was re...

Russia Looks East for New Oil Markets

Click to Enlarge In the final years of the Soviet Union, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev began orienting his foreign policy toward Asia in response to a rising Japan. Putin has also piloted a much-touted pivot to Asia, coinciding with renewed U.S. interest in the area. A good expression of intent was Russia's hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2012 in Vladivostok, near Russia's borders with China and North Korea. Although its efforts in Asia have been limited by more direct interests in Russia's periphery and in Europe, Moscow recently has been able to look more to the east. Part of this renewed interest involves finding new export markets for Russian hydrocarbons. Russia's economy relies on energy exports, particularly crude oil and natural gas exported via pipeline to the West. However, Western Europe is diversifying its energy sources as new supplies come online out of a desire to reduce its dependence on Russian energy supplies . This has ...

LONDON POLICE INDIRECTLY ENCOURAGE CRIMINALS TO ATTACK RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC PROPERTY

ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE A few days ago an unknown perpetrator trespassed on the territory of the Russian Trade Delegation in London, causing damage to the property and the vehicles belonging to the trade delegation , Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during the September 12 press briefing. The diplomat revealed the response by the London police was discouraging. Police told that the case does not have any prospects and is likely to be closed. This was made despite the fact that the British law enforcement was provided with video surveillance tapes and detailed information shedding light on the incident. By this byehavior, British law inforcements indirectly encourage criminals to continue attacks on Russian diplomatic property in the UK. Zakharova’s statement on “Trespassing on the Russian Trade Mission premises in London” ( source ): During our briefings, we have repeatedly discussed compliance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, sp...

ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Search This Blog