Kurds demonstrate on Vienna's Ringstrasse
Around 300 demonstrators held a protest on Vienna’s Ringstrasse on Monday night - as a sign of solidarity for Syrian Kurds who are fighting to defend the Syrian-Turkey border town of Kobane from Islamic State (Isis) militants.
Isis fighters entered the eastern districts of the town on Monday, raising their black flag on buildings and hills.
Vienna police said the demonstration, which gathered outside parliament at around 9pm, was “absolutely peaceful” and ended shortly before midnight. Traffic on the Ringstrasse came to a standstill.
The demonstrators were calling for a debate in the Austrian parliament to discuss an international response to the fighting. Around 10:15pm Andreas Schieder (SPÖ) and Berivan Aslan (Greens) spoke with the protesters.
Turkish consulate attacked
In Bregenz demonstrators attacked the Turkish consulate on Monday night as they protested against Turkey’s lack of support for Kurdish fighters in Kobane.
Police were called to the consulate at around 11.30pm after masked protesters hurled stones through the windows.
Up to 50 mainly Kurdish demonstrators had gathered to protest, chanting slogans of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known as the PKK.
The party is classed as a terrorist group in Turkey, the EU and the US.
No consular staff were present in the building and the protest was dispersed by police.
There were also spontaneous demonstrations in Innsbruck and Graz which remained peaceful.
If Isis takes Kobane, which has been besieged for three weeks, it would have control of a long stretch of the Syrian-Turkish border.
More than 160,000 Syrians, mainly Kurds, have fled the town.
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Isis fighters entered the eastern districts of the town on Monday, raising their black flag on buildings and hills.
Vienna police said the demonstration, which gathered outside parliament at around 9pm, was “absolutely peaceful” and ended shortly before midnight. Traffic on the Ringstrasse came to a standstill.
The demonstrators were calling for a debate in the Austrian parliament to discuss an international response to the fighting. Around 10:15pm Andreas Schieder (SPÖ) and Berivan Aslan (Greens) spoke with the protesters.
Turkish consulate attacked
In Bregenz demonstrators attacked the Turkish consulate on Monday night as they protested against Turkey’s lack of support for Kurdish fighters in Kobane.
Police were called to the consulate at around 11.30pm after masked protesters hurled stones through the windows.
Up to 50 mainly Kurdish demonstrators had gathered to protest, chanting slogans of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, known as the PKK.
The party is classed as a terrorist group in Turkey, the EU and the US.
No consular staff were present in the building and the protest was dispersed by police.
There were also spontaneous demonstrations in Innsbruck and Graz which remained peaceful.
If Isis takes Kobane, which has been besieged for three weeks, it would have control of a long stretch of the Syrian-Turkish border.
More than 160,000 Syrians, mainly Kurds, have fled the town.
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