Mursitpinar, Turkey-Syria border: The US-led military coalition intensified its air strikes on Islamic State positions in Kobane overnight, but locals fear it may be too late to save the besieged town.
Kurdish forces on the ground have been pleading for help, saying it is impossible to defend Kobane with only Kalashnikovs when IS is using tank shells and mortars.
It was only when IS raised two of its black flags on the eastern outskirts of the town and its fighters began entering the centre on Tuesday that the US decided to act.
At a protest village just inside the Turkish border, several hundred Kurds from all over Turkey gathered to call for more international and Turkish intervention to save Kobane, which is also known as Ayn al-Arab.
Cheers erupted as three air strikes hit Islamic State positions, sending huge plumes of black smoke into the sky.
Another two soon followed, raising hopes that after three weeks of brutal fighting and hundreds of deaths, the international military coalition may finally be taking notice of Kobane.
"For Kurds everything is riding on the battle for Kobane," said Pirkan Kilic, an architect from Urfa. "If Kobane falls, everything changes."
More people gathered around – doctors from Istanbul, lawyers from Ankara, Adana and other cities across Turkey – and vowed they would form a human chain along the border to stop Islamic State from crossing. "It's more than the Turkish Army will do," one man quipped.
Another man who had fled Kobane five days ago said he feared the air strikes were too late to save his beloved town.
"When I left my house was in ruins, nothing remained, the mortars were flying and there was danger everywhere," said Mustafa Mohamed Alah, a 65-year-old father of five.
"Kobane is in my heart, my father and eight fathers before him have raised their families there – all I want to do is go home," he said, tears rolling down his cheeks.
Kurdish protesters all over the country reacted with fury at Turkey's decision to leave the defence of Kobane, a mostly Kurdish town, to the YPG, or People's Protection Units, and there were reports in the local media that at least eight people had died in clashes with Turkish security forces.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reissued his call for a no-fly zone over the Syrian border and a safe corridor for refugees to be established before Turkey would act, but so far, the United States has maintained its opposition to such a direct challenge to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's authority.
Although the Turkish parliament voted last Thursday to give formal approval for military intervention and for Turkish territory to be used in cross-border military action, Turkey has yet to join the international coalition that has vowed to stop the advance of Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
Turkey has stationed tanks and troops on a hill just a kilometre from the border crossing into Kobane, but so far its soldiers have been focused on tear gassing Kurdish protesters who have gathered on neighbouring hills to show support for the people of Kobane and demand that Turkey do more to help them.
If Kobane falls, it would give Islamic State control of a swathe of land as well as several key border crossings along the Turkish-Syrian border and inland to IS's self-declared capital of Raqqa in Syria, creating an increasing security nightmare for Turkey.
The United Nations special envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, called for international action to save Kobane, saying the world had already seen what happens when IS takes over a town: massacres, humanitarian tragedies, rapes and horrific violence.
"They are all Kurds, they have been defending themselves with great courage," he said. "But they are now very close to not being able to do so. They are fighting with normal weapons, whereas [Islamic State] has got tanks and mortars . . . the international community needs to defend them."
But despite all the calls for help, it seems Kobane is not the priority for the US-led military coalition.
"It's obviously horrific to watch what's going on on the ground, but it's important for the United States, for us to also step back and remember our strategic objective as it relates to our efforts and our engagement in Syria," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told a media briefing.
The US priority is to disrupt Islamic State's command and control structure, destroy its infrastructure and attack its sources of financing.
"Certainly no one wants to see Kobane fall, but our primary objective here is preventing [IS] from gaining a safe haven," she said.
