MURSITPINAR, Turkey (AP) - In its battle for the Syrian town of Kobani, the Islamic State group enjoys a key advantage: a supply of weapons, ammunition and fighters shuttling between Syria and Iraq.
The town's Syrian Kurdish defenders, while backed by airstrikes from the U.S.-led coalition, are outnumbered, poorly armed and squeezed against the unwelcoming Turkish border. Reflecting growing desperation despite their success so far in holding out, Syrian Kurdish officials are increasingly their appeals to better arm the defenders of the strategic frontier town.
"From the start, we said the coalition's airstrikes will not be able to save Kobani or to defeat Daesh in the area," said Idriss Nassan, deputy head of Kobani's foreign relations committee, using an Arabic acronym for the Islamic State group.
"We call upon the international community to open a humanitarian safe passage to allow in food, medicine, and weapons supplies," Nassan told The Associated Press.
It's unclear what friendly countries could do. Weapons for Kurdish fighters would have to cross through Turkey - a request the Ankara government is likely to rebuff.