LATEST: Video — “Massacre of Refugees” as Regime Barrel Bombs Hit Camp in Idlib Province

WEDNESDAY FEATURE

Syria Special: Amid Its Offensive in the Northwest, Why Are Insurgents Fighting Among Themselves?

UPDATE 1545 GMT: As well as the Iraqi peshmerga, more Free Syrian Army troops are reaching Kobane on Wednesday.

Reports of the arrivals vary between 50 and 200. A Free Syrian brigade has been fighting alongside Syrian Kurdish forces since the Islamic State attacked the town earlier this month.

Meanwhile, claimed photos of the arrival of the Iraqi peshmerga, including artillery pieces, are being posted:


Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga arrived in Turkey on Wednesday morning, en route to the besieged Kurdish center of Kobane in northern Syria.

Kobane and the surrounding area have been under attack for almost two months by the Islamic State, which has occupied part of Kobane city.

Ankara agreed to provide transit for Iraqi Kurdish forces after a week-long conference between Iraqi and Syrian Kurdish factions in Dohuk in northern Iraq. The Erdogan Government is hoping that the Iraqi Kurdish presence can limit the Syrian Kurdish quest for autonomy — so far it has refused to allow other Syrian Kurdish fighters to move through Turkey to reach Kobane.

The Turkish intelligence agency says it will assist the Iraqi Kurdish force of about 150 men and 80 vehicles across the Syrian border. They are expected to reach Kobane later on Wednesday.

“There is now no political problem. There is no problem in the way of them crossing. They can cross at any moment,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said.

There is some confusion over the weapons carried by the peshmerga. Initial reports said the US-supplied arms were accompanied by artillery batteries, but Turkish media claim this morning that these are excluded.


Video: “Massacre of Refugees” as Regime Barrel Bombs Hit Camp in Idlib Province

Scores of displaced Syrians are feared dead after two regime barrel bombs hit a camp in Idlib Province in northwest Syria.

Residents of the Abedin camp testified to the carnage, and video footage showed charred and dismembered bodies, including those of women and children.

Warning — Very Graphic Images:

“It’s a massacre of refugees,” a man said off-camera. “Let the whole world see this, they are displaced people. Look at them, they are civilians, displaced civilians. They fled the bombardment.”

Another resident said up to 75 people, most of them displaced from neighboring Hama Province, had been killed.