A Syrian Kurdish leader told reporters in Paris on Tuesday that the border town of Kobani is outgunned by the Islamic State group, but that diplomatic efforts to secure U.S. and European weapons have been declined.
“We are asking everybody who can help us to provide weapons to the people fighting against tanks and artillery, but nobody is doing anything. There will be many who are martyred,” Saleh Muslim, head of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), told Reuters Tuesday.
The Kurdish leader said that the weapons Kobani citizens need to defeat the Islamic State group are being denied because Turkey and other unnamed countries “don’t want the Kurds to be able to defend themselves,” the wire service reported.
“The Kurdish forces are defending themselves with what they have in their hands to avoid a massacre … but if the Islamic State comes through the city, they will destroy everything and slaughter the people. In a few days, it will be resolved one way or another,” Mr. Muslim said.
The U.S. plans to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels with the Free Syrian Army (FSA) over the next year with $500 million in funding approved by Congress. The Kurdish leader told Reuters that FSA does not operate in the Kobani region.
• Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com.
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