UPDATE: Turkish military tear-gasses observers at Kobane border
KOBANE, Syria - Turkish tear-gassed journalists and observers after an attempt to remove them from two hills overlooking the Syrian border town of Kobane, according to a Rudaw team at the scene.
Military vehicles swept into the area on Sunday, ordering all present on two hills, approximately 1.5 kilometers northwest of the city, to a third hill a kilometer further north with a limited view of the city.
The military cited concerns for the viewers’ safety, without further elaboration.
While most international media decamped to the new area, a number of individuals on the second hill refused to leave despite Turkish orders, prompting the military to fire tear gas at them.
Journalists and observers, many of whom have relatives still on the Syrian side of the border, have positioned themselves on the hills overlooking Kobane since the Islamic State began their offensive against the city in mid-September.
The Rudaw team on the Turkish border reported three rounds of coalition airstrikes in the city beginning Saturday between 10pm and 2 am. There was also fighting east and south of the city, giving way to relative calm on Sunday morning.
Fighting erupted again on Sunday between ISIS and the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the Syrian Kurdish force defending the city, when coalition airplanes bombed an ISIS target at approximately 12:30pm.
Two large pillars of smoke rose above the city on Sunday afternoon. One was the result of the airstrike in the ISIS-controlled eastern part of the city. The much larger plume rose from western neighborhoods held by the YPG following a militant attack.
Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga forces will arrive in Kobane on Monday, according to Peshmerga sources. Both Kurdistan Regional Government and Turkish officials confirmed the unit of approximately 150 fighters would be travelling through Turkey to reach the besieged city, where they will be providing cover to YPG battalions with heavy weapons.