UN envoy on Syria seeks immediate action to protect Kobane

The recently-appointed United Nations Special Envoy on Syria Staffan de Mistura 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, and called 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 centre, while about 10,000 to 13,000 people have fled to the nearby area between the border of Turkey and Syria, according to Xinhua.

The UN envoy stressed that if the city fell into the hands of the IS militants, up to 700 people who remained in the city and possibly the 12,000 civilians seeking refuge outside the city "will most likely be massacred" if the militants were successful in their advance.

De Mistura urged 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.

The US-led anti-terror coalition has repeatedly struck IS positions around Kobane in recent days, yet these operations have not been effective in snuffing out the militant group's continuous attacks.