Kurds fleeing ISIL and 'all kinds of evil'
- 10 years ago
Our correspondent Bora Bayraktar has been at the Turkish border with Syria, at the refugee camp of Suruc. It’s just 10 kilometres and a border crossing away from Kobani in Syria.
He spoke with a farmer, Mustafa Misto, and his family of 17. They are ethnic Kurds, who left the city besieged by the radical Islamic State movement almost a week ago.
In his mid 30s, he is the father of five children, the youngest two months, the eldest 10 years old.
He said: “When ISIL came into our village [near Kobani], everyone was terrified and started to run away. What did these kids do to them? They were frightened. They attacked us with bombs and tanks. Ordinary people who have nothing to do with the war… they are the ones who die. Everything is so difficult. They are trying to take care of us here but for the children it is too hard. We just sit and wait here.”
Misto’s sister said: “They stole our cattle! We left our house and farm. They burnt everything! They hit babies… they do all kinds of evil!”
The refugees from Syria say Kobani — former population 400,000 — is all but deserted.
A few thousand defenders remain, they say, determined to beat off the attack by ISIL Islamist extremists.
He spoke with a farmer, Mustafa Misto, and his family of 17. They are ethnic Kurds, who left the city besieged by the radical Islamic State movement almost a week ago.
In his mid 30s, he is the father of five children, the youngest two months, the eldest 10 years old.
He said: “When ISIL came into our village [near Kobani], everyone was terrified and started to run away. What did these kids do to them? They were frightened. They attacked us with bombs and tanks. Ordinary people who have nothing to do with the war… they are the ones who die. Everything is so difficult. They are trying to take care of us here but for the children it is too hard. We just sit and wait here.”
Misto’s sister said: “They stole our cattle! We left our house and farm. They burnt everything! They hit babies… they do all kinds of evil!”
The refugees from Syria say Kobani — former population 400,000 — is all but deserted.
A few thousand defenders remain, they say, determined to beat off the attack by ISIL Islamist extremists.