Looks like the ground chatter about coming moves on Kobane were accurate. Fighting has been intensifying and there’s is now a significant increase in drone use, which also means rescuer operations in the villages are not possible.
I’ll begin with a glimpse of what things already looked like as the heat started being turned up a few days ago.
As per some of the recent posts, it doesn’t need to be an all out onslaught to make life unbearable.
Like, what makes this more insidious is that Turkey does not want a quick, decisive victory. If they had done that, they’d be stuck with all the people there—including, God help us all, Kurds, Christians, Yazidi, etc.
They’re outsourcing it to mercenary jihadis who work basically for weapons and are utterly expendable. This grinding nastiness is a feature not a bug.
This is what life there is like now.
<WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES BELOW>
And it appears that shit is now getting real. Which beyond the obvious is a problem as Kobane already has its own IDP situation.
And now there is an increase in drone strikes in the area hitting people, including civilians and making evac from the area impossible.
The attacks almost makes you forget that Russia is in Kobane—in the US base no less.
So what the hell are they doing if not stopping the violence?
Seriously? Is Russia basically auctioning off Kobane?
Somehow, I expect Putin will get what he wants from Assad and Erdogan. I don’t know how, but he has at every point thus far. Somehow.
Keep in mind that Kobane is the first great victory of Rojava over ISIS, and therefore has massive symbolic and historical significance for both of them.
It’s not a long history, as both are young movements, making it even more significant.
And just so we don’t lose sight of the fact that there are regular people there, let’s check in on how they feel—this one set to music (cover of Rage Against the Machine).
Rojava to Rock 