FSA and Iraqi Kurds send reinforcement for Kobani. BBC

FSA fighters on their way to Kobani cheered on by Kurds. BBC/AFP

200 Free Syrian Army and 150 Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighters arrived in the area of Kobani to reinforce and rearm the besieged town. -BBC. The new troops will help bring the fight to ISIS who have been in a brutal fight with Syrian Kurds in the town, despite U.S. airstrikes. Initially Turkey would not allow any fighters to cross the border into Syria. Their relationship with the Syrian Kurds is very poor to say the least. The Turks, facing pressure from NATO allowed FSA troops and the Iraqi Kurds, who the Turks have a much better relationship with, into the battle. It is unknown how effective the reinforcements will be but the heavy weapons they brought with them should have a major impact. The fact that the FSA and the Kurds will be working together is a new development as well. In the past neither group worked with each other since the Kurds left the forces of the Syrian military alone. ISIS still controls at least 40% of Kobani. 

My Comment:

Will these reinforcements be enough to turn the tide in Kobani? I'm not sure. I do know that it will make the battle more bloody for ISIS. It's still very possible that ISIS will take the city. They are bound and determined to because at this point the political and propaganda importance of the city vastly outweighs any actual strategic value. Still, both sides are losing hundreds of fighters. Whoever prevails in Kobani may have a Pyhrric victory on their hands. 

As for Turkey, none of this would have been necessary if they had just let Syrian and Turkish Kurds over the border. I know that Turkey hates the Kurds more then they hate ISIS, but that is the wrong way to look at things. Even if you take a completely cynical view, it would make sense for Turkey to let their two enemies fight. More sense then letting your two semi-allies, the Peshmerga and the FSA, to fight. It's not like either side has a huge army to spare either, they are both being pressed hard by ISIS and their various other enemies. The whole situation is a mess...