Kobane Refugees are Dying on the Turkish Border Closed to Them

[Rayzur]

War for Kobane: 13,000 terrified Kurds trapped between Isil and Turkish border Up to 13,000 terrified Kurdish refugees trapped in dangerous no-man’s land along Syria’s border with Turkey, with Islamic State jihadis closing in

The thousands of refugees stuck at three separate border points appear in less obvious danger from Isil atrocities than the 700 civilians still stuck inside Kobane itself, according to United Nations estimates Photo: Robert Tait

 

By Robert Tait, Yumurtalik

5:49PM BST 10 Oct 2014

 

They are the forgotten people of the war for Kobane.

As the battle for control of the strategically vital border town creeps closer to a bloody denouement, between 10,000 and 13,000 terrified refugees cower on the Syrian side of the border with Turkey – trapped in a dangerous no-man’s-land between the murderous violence of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant [isil] and official Turkish suspicion towards Kurds.

Many sleep inside family cars parked next to the chicken wire border fence. Some have brought livestock with them in the hope that they can soon return to the farmlands they hastily vacated, an increasingly forlorn aspiration.

Now many have started to suffer grievously in their state of limbo after Turkey finally sealed the border to stop the flood of refugees.

Up to 50 may have died in recent days, from various causes, including starvation and stepping on landmines, say Syrian Kurdish groups.

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Some – including Kurdish fighters brought to the border from Kobane – are said to have bled to death from minor wounds after being denied access into Turkey.

The thousands of refugees stuck at three separate border points appear in less obvious danger from Isil atrocities than the 700 civilians still stuck inside Kobane itself, according to United Nations estimates.

Yet it is the former who have become the latest trigger for Kurdish anger over Turkey’s stance in the war between Isil jihadists and the Kurdish militias fighting to save Kobane.

While the stranded border refugees have run short of water and food, Turkish security forces have intervened aggressively to stop aid groups and relatives approaching the fence to render assistance.

Wasiq Mami, 45, from Kobane and carrying a bag full of bread for hungry relatives, described how he and friends were attacked by police firing tear gas after they went to a section of the fence away from the main crossing point to hand out fresh supplies.

“Because of the Turkish government’s policy, we are having to use sneaky smugglers routes to pass on food,” said Mr Mami, standing at the deserted Yumurtalik crossing inside Turkey, which just days ago was a bustling site of fleeing refugees. “We went to an area that was covered with trees to pass on food but after the police found out, they fired tear gas at us and beat us.”

A group of Kurds from Turkey belonging to the newly-formed Kurdish Liberty Movement were prevented on Friday from dispensing food and water when soldiers blocked their path.

“A lot of people, mainly old people and children, have died of hunger,” said Osman Cinar, the group’s leader, standing with a group of men with bags of food. “Three people were shot when they tried to come through the border five days ago.”

Three children, one as young as eight, are also reported to have died on the Syrian side after stepping on landmines.

In Turkey, Kurds say, the army has established a cordon 0.6 miles from the border which no one is permitted to pass – ostensibly to block Kurdistan Workers Party [PKK] fighters, outlawed by the Turkish government as “terrorists”, from going to Syria to aid their Kurdish brethren against Isil.

The Daily Telegraph witnessed the policy’s enforcement on Friday as an armoured vehicle pursued four people who tried to walk toward the border but were forced to turn and run.

The human costs are mounting – along with resentment at the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish president.

“About 50 people have died at the border, some of them from injuries, at least five or six from starvation, I’m certain of that,” said Ebrahim Muslim, head of the Syrian Civilian Coalition, a UN-backed group. “The people of Kobane, including those at the border, are surrounded – by Isil to the east, west and south, and by Turkish forces to the north across the border.

“The Turkish government said after this week’s [Muslim] Eid festival that everyone left in Kobane was a supporter of the YPG [the Syrian Kurdish militia] and a terrorist. That’s why they are doing this. They want to eliminate the Kurds as a force.”