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Hundreds demonstrate in Toronto in support of Syrian town battling I

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  • Hundreds demonstrate in Toronto in support of Syrian town battling I

    Toronto Star, Ontario, Canada
    Oct 11 2014


    Hundreds demonstrate in Toronto in support of Syrian town battling Islamic State

    Kurdish community pleads for safe passage for Kobani's embattled
    residents to nearby Turkey.


    By: Lauren Pelley Staff Reporter, Published on Sat Oct 11 2014


    Hundreds of demonstrators wove through the streets of downtown Toronto
    on Saturday in support of an embattled Syrian town near the border of
    Turkey.

    Kobani has been under siege for several weeks, with Kurdish fighters
    battling against the militant group calling itself Islamic State. A
    United States-led coalition appears to have done little to repel
    Islamic State's advances.

    "The situation is Kobani is very critical," said Chato Wany, vice
    president of the Greater Toronto Kurdish House, the group that
    organized Saturday's demonstration.

    Attendees waved Kurdish, Canadian and American flags while chanting
    "Long live Kurdistan" and other messages in support of Kobani. Wany
    said the primarily Kurdish demonstrators were also joined by
    supporters from Toronto's Jewish and Armenian communities.

    The group gathered at the U.S. Consulate General on University Ave.
    and moved south towards the Turkish Consulate General on Lower
    Spadina. The event was meant to highlight the need for a corridor
    between Kobani and neighbouring Turkey, according to Wany.

    Kurdish officials recently appealed to Turkey to open a corridor that
    would allow remaining civilians to leave the town, and arms and
    supplies to enter.

    "We're trying to bring awareness to opening a corridor, a way for
    people to freely go back to Syria," said attendee Rahman Taban, who
    moved to Canada from Iranian Kurdistan about 20 years ago.

    Saturday's demonstration was largely peaceful, though one woman was
    arrested for breaching the peace in front of the U.S. Consulate
    General. Police removed her from the scene at the request of the
    event's organizers after a scuffle broke out over the use of American
    flags.

    Later, a small number of demonstrators threw eggs at the Turkish
    Consulate as the event was wrapping up shortly after 4 p.m. Police
    encouraged demonstrators to leave the scene.

    Representatives from the Turkish Consulate could not be reached for comment.

    A larger, similar demonstration was held in Germany on Saturday, with
    more than 20,000 Kurdish immigrants protesting against the Islamic
    State group in Duesseldorf.

    In Kobani, at least 500 people have been killed and thousands more
    have been forced to flee across the border into Turkey since the
    Islamic State launched their offensive.

    http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/10/11/hundreds_demonstrate_in_toronto_in_support_of_syri an_town_battling_islamic_state.html


    From: Baghdasarian
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