Assault on Kobane

On July 2, 2014, following the conquer of Mosul and large regions of north-western Iraq, the Kurdish region of Kobanê (Arabic: عين العرب‎, Ayn Al-Arab) in central northern Syria bordering Turkey was viciously attacked by Islamic State aka ISIS forces with tanks and heavy weapons brought over from Iraq. According to Kurdish sources, ISIS has fired more than 3,000 mortars in four days.

In addition to the 200,000 people living in Kobane canton in peace time, there are currently at least the same number of refugees, mostly Kurds from other northern regions of Syria, taking shelter there.

The pattern and the involvement of Turkey follows what has been seen in the eastern part of Syrian Kurdistan since late 2012 with the Assault on Ras Al-Ayn. The border regions with Turkey both west and east of Kobane canton are already controlled by ISIS, including the border posts at Jarablus and Tal Abyad (see Syrian Military Maps). In an "urgent call" for help to the international community on July 6, the Kurdish National Congress (of Syrian Kurdistan) pointed out that the attackers are able to move freely across the border and in Turkey, while the army is turning a blind eye and wounded ISIS fighters are even treated in Turkish hospitals.

Kidnapped students Already in late May, hundreds of schoolchildren from Kobane went by bus to Aleppo to do their exams, crossing ISIS-controlled territory. On return, they were abducted. ISIS released the female students and younger children, but kept initially 148 13-14 year old ninth grader boys, promising to release them after they'd receive ten days of "Islamic education". Which did not happen, Only a small number were released or managed to flee, and despite protests from several sides even including Human Rights Watch, as of mid-September about 130 of them are still held captive near Jarablus, with reports of heavy indoctrination and light torture.

The deputy foreign relations minister of the Kobane canton, Idriss Nassan, detailed the offensive as follows:


 * IS began its offensive by first capturing the villages of Zor Mughar, Beyadi and Ziyarete, 40-45 kilometers (25-28 miles) west of Kobani. The YPG pushed IS out of these villages after hard-fought battles. IS left behind more than 100 dead, a Humvee, a tank, some Doushka heavy machine guns and automatic weapons. YPG lost 16 of its fighters.


 * On July 7, the IS target was the Kun Eftar village, slightly north of the Turkish sovereign territory of the Tomb of Suleiman Shah. Here YPG lost two fighters but IS lost 20 to 30. IS could not achieve its goals. Next came attacks from Tel Abyad in the east. On July 8, IS attacked Evdiko village 8 kilometers (5 miles) west of Tel Abyad. In that clash, six YPG fighters and civilians were killed. Another IS target was Abu Surra village, 60 kilometers (37 miles) south of Tel Abyad. There, IS blew up a bomb-laden truck at a YPG checkpoint, killing four YPG fighters.

By July 8, Kurdish officials were speaking of at least one village reclaimed (Zormixar), and 200 ISIS fighters killed, with no word on their own losses. On the same day, Kurdish news agency Firat put the number of killed ISIS fighters at 270, with 21 fighters of Rojava's self-defense militia People's Protection Units (YPG) and one civilian dead on their side.

According to Fehim Taştekin writing for Al Monitor, the reasons for the assault are:


 * IS encountered the toughest resistance in Syria at Rojava and despite all its efforts, could not overcome it. Rojava became a major obstruction to IS.
 * Kobane is the weakest link among three cantons of Rojava, which are not contiguous. Nassan and all other Kurds believe that by capturing Kobane, the IS wants to wipe out the autonomy project.
 * If Kobane falls, the IS will next target the Mursitpinar border crossing to Turkey to further consolidate its presence on the Turkish border.
 * IS cannot establish a land connection between Jarablus and Tel Abyad, which it controls, by using the 85-kilometer (53-mile) road parallel to the Turkish border that links those two towns. They now have to travel 250 kilometers (160 miles) for the same trip.

On July 11, Firat reports that the YPG has "for the first time" used anti-tank missiles, destroying an ISIS-manned tank in the village of Carikli. Participants of a solidarity vigil action in the Turkish border village of Ziyaret report that a train carrying Turkish tanks was seen driving through the region with unknown destination.

A YPG press release on July 13 states that 61 ISIS fighters had been killed during the last 24 hours in continued attacks on several fronts. In another statement ISIS is accused of using chemical weapons in their attacks. Traces had been found on two dead YPG fighters (photos published with the statement) and a call was made to the international community to come investigate details, as Kobane's situation under siege doesn't give the local authorities access to the equipment necessary to do so.

After thousands attended solidarity events on the Turkish side of the border, in the night of July 15, about 300 Turkish Kurds teared down the border fence and crossed into Rojava to join the fight, which continues on three fronts: To the West around Zor Mixar, to the South in the villages on the banks of Euphrates, and to the East around Kendal, Evdıke and Gıre Sor. The nearest ISIS came to the city of Kobane is 35 kilometers, while their most powerful mortars reach 25 kilometers.

On July 19, tens of thousands gathered on both sides of the border to celebrate the second birthday of the so-called "Rojava Revolution". Despite Turkish police using tear gas and water cannons trying to stop them, at least a thousand people managed to tear down the border fence and cross over to Kobane to join the still ongoing fight against ISIS.

After some more days of fierce fighting, ISIS had to retreat and on July 22, the Kurds started a counter-offensive named "Revenge for the martyrs of Kobane" securing the borders of Kobane canton before ISIS would be able to re-group. The stated goal of ISIS, to conquer Kobane before the end of Ramadan, had no chance of being reached anymore.

September
In mid-September 2014, while over in the US a debate on if and how to bomb ISIS positions in Iraq and Syria was going on, and how this could lead to "strange bedfellows", ISIS started their yet heaviest attacks on Kobane with tanks and heavy artillery and ongoing support from NATO-member Turkey which keeps the borders open for them. On September 17 several sources report about a train delivering fighters and material to the Turkish side of the border near Tel Abyad, stopping and unloading to the Syrian side in the village of Silib Qeran, which has no train station. Due to the intensity of attacks, the YPG starts to evacuate citizens from villages east of Kobane town, with the latter said to host 600-700,000 people at that time - about three times as much as normal.

In the following days the Jihadis continued to advance towards Kobane city and came in distance to shell it with long-range artillery. People started to flee to the Turkish border, where they were stuck and prevented from entering by Turkish military. Only after Western Journalists arrived on September 19 was the border finally opened. People protesting the closed border on the Turkish side had earlier been treated with tear gas and water cannons. As of September 20, 45,000 Kurds have crossed the border into Turkey at eight places, while at least 300 Turkish Kurds crossed in the other direction to join the fight against ISIS.

In an interview the Premier of Kobane Anwar Moslem speaks of several trains who have been delivering support and fighters to the approaching forces from the Turkish side, and says many eyewitnesses have seen them. He says he will make them available to journalists if they come to Kobane. At a September 20 press conference in Turkey's parliament, MP Demir Celik claimed that the recipients of the material on the trains were veteran Turkish Special Forces fighting with "the group presented to us as ISIS". He claims to have reliable information that they are the backbone of ISIS' strategical moves from the taking of Mosul to the ongoing attack on Kobane, numbering not less than 2,000 officers "who in the 1990s were cutting off the noses and ears of Kurdish (PKK) fighters".

Meanwhile a Turkish nurse went public with a letter to parliament and several media organizations, detailing how she has treated many wounded ISIS members and higher-ups at the private hospital she works at, and now is "sick and tired" of treating people "who chop off heads." She says the people arrive there under false name and are introduced as Syrian "opposition members". Several details are given.


 * "The ISIL commander named Muhammet Ali R. who was admitted to our hospital on Aug. 7 was treated at room number 323. Many of his bodyguards kept watch around the hospital. Many other ISIL commanders like him and soldiers have been treated at our hospital, and returned to war after the completion of their treatment. I don't want to help these people. I want you to inspect these hospitals. And I am referring the owners of the hospital and its management to God."

Refugees from the villages of Yapsê and Dinayikê, arriving in Suruç on the other side of the border facing Kobane, report that they have seen a large number of buses approaching the border in the night of September 14, one day before the offensive started. They unloaded what the witnesses claim were "up to 3,000 people with beards and wearing robes" who crossed the border under Turkish military supervision and passed through their villages.

These stories together with the fact that the 49 Turkish hostages held by ISIS were released on September 20, and the Turkish government admitted that there has been "a deal", raised questions with many inside and outside Turkey about what exactly this deal might have been. Top PKK officials accuse the AKP government of "selling out Kobane" and threaten to dump the ongoing peace process between the Turkish Kurds and the government.

As of September 23, the official number of refugees due to the events in Kobane reached 130,000, with Amnesty International calling on Turkey to keep the borders open and the international community to provide assistance dealing with the crisis. Some Kurdish sources including the PYD head claim that the numbers are vastly exaggerated by Turkey. People trying to return to join the fight after they brought their families over to Turkey are often not allowed back. By September 24 there are reports of 5,000 people trying to return but being prevented to do so by Turkish forces. Some accuse Turkey of having created panic with those huge numbers and reports of Kobane being "evacuated", which made them leave in the first place. They suspect the intent is to "empty Kobane" of Kurds.

A September 22 YPG statement reports about casualty numbers in the first week. According to this, 232 ISIS members were killed, four tanks, 13 military vehicles and 7 others carrying heavy weapons destroyed. 32 YPG/YPJ fighters lost their lives defending Kobane. The ISIS advance on the eastern front was halted, while there was still heavy fighting on the other fronts. A YPG statement from a day later says 84 ISIS fighters had been killed during the last day and their advance halted on all fronts, although intense attacks continued. It is unclear and not mentioned at all if and how much the US bombing campaign, that started in the early morning between the statements and is said to have included strikes on Tal Abyad, influenced the events.