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Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
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Derechos | Equipo Nizkor
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10Oct14
UN Envoy on Syria urges immediate action to protect Kobane
The recently-appointed United Nations Special Envoy to Syria Staffan de Mistura on Friday urged immediate action, especially from Turkey, to prevent Islamic State (IS) militants from taking over Kobane, a Syrian city that borders Turkey.
Addressing a press conference in Geneva, De Mistura warned that the situation in Kobane was critical, calling for a swift response to save the predominantly Kurdish city which has been subject to ferocious attacks by IS militants over the past weeks.
He said that at present about 500 to 700 people, mostly elderly people and civilians, were still trapped in the city center, while about 10,000 to 13,000 people have fled to the nearby area between the border of Turkey and Syria.
The UN envoy stressed that if the city falls into the hands of the IS militants, up to 700 people who remain in the city and possibly the 12,000 civilians seeking refuge outside the city "will most likely be massacred" if the militants are successful in their advance.
De Mistura implored everyone to do whatever they could to stop the potential tragedy, asking for particular support from Turkey.
"We would like to appeal to the Turkish authorities in order to allow the flow of volunteers at least, and their own equipment, in order to be able to enter the city to contribute to a self-defence operation," said De Mistura.
Asked if this means Turkey should allow arms supplies, De Mistura did not give straight answers but said that "equipment can be many things".
Having taken the position as UN mediator for Syria crisis after Kofi Annan and Lakhdar Brahimi, De Mistura reiterated that there is no military but only political solution to end the violence and sufferings in this volatile country.
But he noted that at the moment it was "premature to elaborate details for what type or format of framework may or could take in terms of a political process".
He stressed that facts on the ground and political facts changed after the international Geneva Conference held in 2012.
"At this stage we are not talking, obviously, about the Geneva III (conference), or any type of major political momentum. What we are working on is listening, being in a listening mode, being in a position of understanding where is the current regional, global and national environment regarding possible political process," said De Mistura. When asked about whether he would have talks with IS militants, De Mistura said that he, as the UN special envoy, was "authorized and expected to talk to anyone if that produces some benefit either to a political solution or a humanitarian relief."
"But I am not proposing, I am not planning and they are not asking for meeting any one of us," the veteran diplomat accentuated.
De Mistura, a former deputy foreign minister of Italy, was appointed in July by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to fill a vacancy left by Brahimi, who resigned in May out of frustration after failing to help Syria find a political solution to its long-running conflict.
Brahimi himself had replaced Kofi Annan, who was the first international envoy to Syria who also resigned for the very same reason.
According to the UN, since the Syria crisis erupted in March 2011, the conflict has led to more than 190,000 deaths, and three million have fled to neighboring countries, while another 6.5 million displaced inside their war-ridden homeland.
Having repeatedly tried to storm Kurdish dominated Syrian areas, IS militants advanced into Kobane near Turkish border for three weeks and seized many villages surrounding the town.
There were reports that the IS fighters have gained control over one-third of Kobane, despite airstrikes by the U.S.-led anti-terror coalition.
Some 180,000 Syrian Kurds have fled IS violence and taken refugee in Turkey.
[Source: Xinhua, Geneva, 10Oct14]
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