Kobane battle... strategic shift in war against ISIS, its allies - 1

Given the horror it has formed since the first moments of the declaration of the so-called Islamic caliphate, during which it committed war crimes against humanity, the international community has realized the difficulty of confronting ISIS in light of the mercenaries directly supported by Turkey seizing large areas of Syria and Iraq.

World attention turns to Kobane on September 15^th

On September 15, 2014, the world's attention shifted to Kobane whose name was mentioned on hundreds of TV channels and news agencies around the world.

Benefiting from the heavy weapons obtained from the camps of the Syrian and Iraqi armies, ISIS occupied nearly 300 villages in northern Syria within two weeks, in the largest ground attack launched by ISIS from 3 axes, bringing between 4 and 6 thousand mercenaries, according to unofficial statistics.

This came amid the Women and People Protection Units' (YPG – YPJ) resistance despite the semi-desert geography throughout the canton and the lack of heavy weapons, unlike what ISIS used in its attacks.

ISIS enters Kobane, and fierce resistance in the neighborhoods of the city

The mercenaries were able to ascend the hill of Mashta al-Nur overlooking Kobane on the 5^th of October of the same year, so that the two military commanders of the Women Protection Units Arin Merkan and Rivana carried out two self-sacrifice operations to curb ISIS from advancing towards the neighborhoods of the city.

Despite stifling the fighters defending the neighborhoods of Kobane, the ferocity of the battles increased to stop the advance of ISIS in the city.

Kobane ... humanity's hope for salvation from ISIS' threat

Jamil Mazloum, one of the military commanders in the ranks of the People Protection Units during the battle confirmed that the fighters had made the decision not to surrender confronting ISIS, and to make sacrifices in order not to lose the city.

"The peoples of the world saw that Kobane had turned to humanity’s hope for salvation from the danger posed by these groups. On this basis, the peoples of the world from Europe to Latin America to different regions of Kurdistan stood in solidarity with the defenders of the city, while some of them went to fight the battle against ISIS alongside the People and Women Protection Units."

After losing more than 3 thousand of its members to control the last two neighborhoods in the city, ISIS retreated due to the losses it suffered as a result of the fierce resistance shown by the fighters, especially in the "Murshed Pinar" border battle between Kobane and Turkish lands.

ISIS began to retreat after its attack met heroic resistance in the streets and alleys of the city, and its attempts to hold out in the city's neighborhoods despite direct Turkish support did not succeed, but the battle constituted a strategic shift in ending ISIS on the Syrian geography.

Mazloum notes that the battle in Kobane revealed to the public that the regional powers are financing and supporting ISIS, and that this has become clear to the international community.

Adding: "We have fought for years in cooperation with the countries of the international coalition with great hopes of eliminating the forces of darkness and building a free and democratic Syria for all components of the Syrian people, and resolving the Syrian dilemma by political means, and we always try in that endeavor despite the harassment of ISIS allies who occupied the areas of Syria in the north of the country in front of the international community, and this was not the hope of the Syrian people who defended on behalf of the world against ISIS."

ISIS retreated until a coalition of Women Protection Units, People Protection Units, Free Syrian Army fighters and international fighters liberated all neighborhoods of the city, and they declared a great victory on January 1 of 2015 after 134 days of the fiercest battles in the Syrian arena during the civil war In the country, for the People Protection Units to raise its flag over the hill of "Kania Kurda" east of the city, in reference to the liberation of the entire city, and hundreds of cities around the world celebrated the victory.

D.H

ANHA