Kurdish defenders of the strategic Syrian border town of Kobane awaited reinforcements yesterday after weathering another onslaught by Islamic State (IS) militants.
Fighting appeared to have diminished after a fierce attack begun by IS fighters almost 48 hours earlier, including suicide bombers, witnesses and monitors said.
IS militants in Kobane were exchanging fire with Kurdish militia and there were reports of an explosion, probably a car bomb, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said.
A total of 30 militants and 11 Kurdish fighters were killed in 24 hours, the Britain-based Observatory said late on Tuesday, adding that IS was bringing in reinforcements “as a result of the daily losses in Kobane.”
The town has become a crucial battleground in the war against IS, which is fighting to extend areas under its control in Iraq and Syria, where it has declared an Islamic “caliphate.”
The lull came as the UN accused the Islamic State of “attempted genocide” against Iraq’s Yazidi minority and said atrocities committed by militants may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
“The evidence strongly indicates attempt to commit genocide,” UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights Ivan Simonovic said after meeting with officials and displaced people in Erbil, Baghdad and Dohuk.
Tens of thousands of Yazidis have fled, fearing for their lives after being targeted for their religious beliefs.
Against a backdrop of continued fighting, there has been feverish diplomatic efforts, with Turkey announcing on Monday that it would help Kurdish forces from Iraq to relieve Kobane’s beleaguered defenders, in a major shift of policy that was swiftly welcomed by Washington.
Iraqi Kurdish officials have said they will provide the training to the fighters in Syria.
A Kurdish official, Idris Nassen, said on Tuesday that no reinforcements had yet arrived and they did not have “any idea” when they would.
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