On college campuses in Turkey, masked, stick-wielding students have clashed with leftist activists over banners criticizing ISIS and Turkey’s seeming indifference to the fight that’s raging in nearby Syria. Many say the conflicts are reminiscent of the country’s violent past.
Turkey has given in to international pressure and allowed Iraqi peshmerga, as the Kurdish fighting force is known, into Kobane, Syria. But Kurds in Turkey say they’re still not happy with the way they’re being treated by the ruling AK Party, headed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The Syrian city of Kobane has survived a 25th day under siege from the forces of ISIS. But the defenders are increasingly wary of the night, when coalition jets go home and ISIS launches attacks, and many Kurds fear the air campaign isn’t enough to save the city.
With Kurdish fighters in the city of Kobane trapped between ISIS attacks and Turkish indifference, anger inside Turkey is building. Nineteen Kurdish protesters were killed overnight, and it looks like Kobane may still surrender to ISIS despite US airstrikes.