Kurdish YPG fighters are making a last stand of defence against militants form the Islamic State, who have broken Kurdish defences and entered Kobane after a three week siege.
Turkish MPs have voted to allow its military to enter Iraq and Syria and foreign troops to use its territory to combat the threat of the Islamic State.
Turkey now hosts more than a 1.5m Syrians – and many more have arrived on the back of the US/allied air strikes on ISIS
Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has swept to a landslide victory in the country’s first direct presidential election. His win follows three terms as the country’s prime minister and he has made no secret of his desire to be a president who is politically active, as opposed to the ceremonial role it has traditionally been.
The Turkish government has come under fresh criticism for their policy towards the instability in Iraq, where a number of Turkish diplomats have been kidnapped by Islamic militants.