Kurds in Netherlands storm parliament in protest against ISIL

AMSTERDAM - Reuters

Kurdish demonstrators face policemen while staging a protest in the hall of the Parliament building in The Hague, waving flags with a portrait of jailed PKK leader, late Oct. 6. AFP Photo

Dozens of Kurds stormed the national parliament building in The Hague on Oct. 6 night in a protest against fighters of Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) who are attacking the Kurdish town of Kobane in northern Syria, Kurdish officials in the Netherlands said.

Riot squads and hundreds of officers were deployed and helicopters were flying overhead, said a demonstrator at the scene.

Around 100 protesters forced their way through to the main hall of the building and were sitting on the floor with banners, one of which read "Stop Kobane."

"The situation in Kobane is getting of control. ISIL has stormed the town and a lot of civilians are being killed. We want the West to do more to stop the situation in Syria," said the protester, who asked not to be named.

Police officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

ISIL advanced into the outskirts of the Syrian frontier town of Kobane on Oct. 6 after an assault of almost three weeks, but the town's Kurdish defenders said its fighters had not reached the city center.

A black flag belonging to ISIL was visible from across the Turkish border atop a four-storey building close to the scene of some of the most intense clashes in recent days.

Kurdish activists seeking to draw attention to the threat facing Kurds in Syria and Iraq by the advancing ISIL militants have held several protests in the Netherlands in recent weeks.