The historic resistance of the Kobanê Canton of Rojava against the attacks of ISIS gangs is continuing in its 64th day, led by the YPG/YPJ. The resistance is growing every day, with all elected representatives in the canton also taking up arms.

Kobanê Canton Foreign Minister Ibrahim Kurdo, stressing that after 2 months of resistance in Kobanê the ISIS gangs were in retreat, added: “We are worried they may use chemical weapons as their attacks have been thwarted and they are on the back foot. They have resorted to this before against our fighters. We therefore need a corridor to be opened urgently to enable us to protect civilians and resist the gangs.”

Kobanê Foreign Minister Ibrahim Kurdo said they had no information regarding the fate of people captured by the gangs as they wrought havoc in villages during their advance on Kobanê. He said the resistance had halted the gangs’ advance on the eastern and southern fronts, adding that the neighbourhoods occupied by the gangs had been destroyed.

Kurdo said the resistance of the Kurdish people in Kobanê had caught the imagination of the world, and helped unite the four parts of Kurdistan, adding; “We don’t have heavy weaponry to oppose ISIS. The air strikes have make a significant contribution to the resistance, but we urgently need effective weapons to defend the people against ISIS attacks. Despite this our determined resistance is continuing.”

‘We are concerned that the gangs, with their backs to the wall, may use chemical weapons’

Kobanê Canton Foreign Minister said the ISIS gangs had been repulsed, despite their bringing in reinforcements, adding that he was worried the gangs might resort to using chemical weapons, as they had previously when they had their backs to the wall. “They have used this method against our fighters before. We therefore call on the world to open a corridor urgently as we need assistance to protect civilians and oppose these gangs.”

‘In Kobanê we are waging a struggle for humanity’

Kurdo said people from all 4 parts of Kurdistan were involved in the resistance in Kobanê, adding that no one apart from the Kurdish people had been able to withstand ISIS. He said the Kurdish people were fighting on behalf of the world, adding: “The whole world knows these gangs are enemies of humanity who wreak destruction wherever they go. Only the Kurdish people have stood up to them. We are waging a struggle for humanity. We hope to be able to live together with Turks, Alawites, Syriacs and Arabs. We want to live in a democratic Syria. We don’t want to secede. We want to live in peace with everyone.”

‘Arrival of the peshmerga an important step for the unity of the Kurdish people’

Kurdo said the arrival of the Peshmerga in Kobanê had opened the way to unity, adding: “this is conducive to the formation of a joint force to foil possible attacks on the Kurdish people. Our peshmerga friends who are fighting in Kobanê do not see themselves as separate from Kobanê. They are our brothers who are fighting side by side with us. We are proud of this. It is a significant step towards the unity of the Kurdish people.”