Syrian Kurds get arms from Iraq, but cannot send them to Kobane

PARIS/BEIRUT

A truck mounted with a machine gun belonging to the Kurdish forces patrols in the western district of the Syrian town of Kobane. AFP Photo

Syrian Kurds have received a "symbolic" amount of military aid from Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) that is meant for Kobane but is stuck in northeastern Syria because Turkey will not open an aid corridor, a Syrian Kurdish official said.
   
The aid designed to help in the Kurdish fight against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant’s (ISIL) in Kobane, also known as Ayn al-Arab, includes ammunition for light weapons and mortar shells, said Alan Othman, media official in the Syrian Kurdish military council in the northeastern Syria, speaking to Reuters via Skype.
   
"It is a symbolic shipment that has remained in the Jazeera canton," he said, using the Kurdish name for northeastern Syria.

Hollande says Turkey must 'absolutely open its border' to aid Kobane

Meanwhile, French President Francois Hollande has urged Turkey to open its border with Syria to help Kurdish fighters defending Kobane.
      
"Kobane could at any moment fall into the hands of the terrorists," Hollande said. "Turkey must absolutely open its border" to help the Syrian Kurds defending the town which is under attack from ISIL.