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UN Secretary General Calls for Action to Protect Civilians in Syria’s Ayn al-Arab

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UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged "all those with the means to do so" to protect the residents of the largely Kurdish town of Ayn al-Arab in Syria amid the assault of the Islamic State (IS), the United Nations said in a press release.

UNITED NATIONS, October 7 (RIA Novosti) - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged "all those with the means to do so" to protect the residents of the largely Kurdish town of Ayn al-Arab in Syria amid the assault of the Islamic State (IS), the United Nations said in a press release.

"In light of the gross and extensive violations of human rights and international humanitarian law the terrorist group has committed in areas that have fallen under its control in Syria and Iraq during its barbarous campaign, he [Ban] urgently calls on all those with the means to do so to take immediate action to protect the beleaguered civilian population of Ayn al-Arab," Monday's statement read.

Ban is "following with grave concern the ongoing offensive by ISIL [IS] on the northern Syrian town of Ayn al-Arab, which has already resulted in massive displacement of civilians, including into Turkey, and numerous death and injuries," according to the statement.

Islamic State militants have been besieging Ayn al-Arab, also known as Kobani — one of the largest towns in the Kurdish region bordering Turkey — for the last three weeks, making about 300,000 people flee their homes, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

Salih Muslim, the leader of the Syrian Kurdish party PYD, has said that Islamic State (IS) militants were likely to slaughter the residents of Kobani, unless Kurdish fighters receive the weapons, promised to them by the West.

The IS, also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), has been fighting the Syrian government since 2012. In June 2014, the group extended its attacks to northern and western Iraq, declaring a caliphate on the controlled territories.

Following the group's advance, the United States and its allies launched airstrikes against IS targets in Iraq and Syria and promised to stir up military aid for Iraqi, Kurdish and "moderate" Syrian opposition forces.

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