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Tens of thousands of Kurds in Turkey rally to support Syrian city of Kobani, besieged by IS

Associated Press
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Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters cheer as they leave the outskirts of Suruc, Turkey, towards the Turkey-Syria border, on the way to the Syrian city of Kobani, Friday, Oct. 31, 2014. The 10 peshmerga fighters from Iraq who entered the embattled northern Syrian town of Kobani one day earlier returned to Turkey Friday to prepare for their forces' full deployment, and a senior Kurdish official blamed Ankara for the delay. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda) (The Associated Press)

Turkish Kurds march during a rally to support Syrian Kurds fighting Islamic State extremists in the embattled Syrian border town of Kobani or Ayn al-Arab, in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014. The placards read: " Nov. 1, International Kobani Day." (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) (The Associated Press)

Turkish Kurds march during a rally to support Syrian Kurds fighting Islamic State extremists in the embattled Syrian border town of Kobani or Ayn al-Arab, in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel) (The Associated Press)

Tens of thousands of Kurds are rallying in Turkish cities in solidarity with the embattled Syrian city of Kobani, which has been under a brutal siege by the Islamic State group.

In Diyarbakir, in the heart of the Kurdish region in Turkey's southeast, protesters marched peacefully, chanting: "Long live the struggle for Kobani."

The assault on Kobani has largely emptied the city that was once home to hundreds of thousands.

In villages along Turkey's border with Syria Kurds, including refugees from Kobani, marched within eyeshot of their former home.

One demonstrator, Fatima Muslim said: "I came to show my support for my people and for the blood of our people."

The 55-year-old added: "We've lost everything. They blew up our houses. And now we are in a refugee camp."