KOBANI, Syria — It was not easy for Al-Monitor to enter Kobani. The random shelling by the Islamic groups, on the one hand, and the closure of the border crossings by Turkish forces on the other, made it difficult for us to get any news about what was happening across the border. The invasion of the city and the security cordon that was imposed on it — aimed at intimidating citizens — resulted in the displacement of about 200,000 people from Kobani and its surrounding villages. Most of them fled to the Turkish city of Suruc.
Suruc is about eight kilometers (five miles) from the Syrian border and Kobani. Al-Monitor had trouble getting in as there were no smugglers on the Syrian-Turkish border, who usually allow people to cross it. Those who cooperated support the People's Protection Units (YPG) — the Kurdish forces fighting in the city.
