Smoke rising after an apparent air strike by allied forces against Islamic State tragets east of the Syrian town of Kobane
Keystone
Activists have demonstrated across Europe, including in Switzerland’s four main cities, to call for additional international support to stop the Islamic State fighters in Syria and Iraq.
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swissinfo.ch and agencies
Police in Geneva intervened to prevent a group of Kurdish protesters on Tuesday from entering the compound of the United Nations European headquarters.
Flying the Kurdish flag, several hundred demonstrators staged a demonstration outside to condemn the attacks by jihadists.
In Zurich, the protestors marched on the Turkish consulate to Switzerland, accusing the Turkish authorities of inaction over the Syrian-Turkish border town of Kobane.
Another group of demonstrators took to the streets in the Swiss capital, Bern.
On Monday, a demonstration in Basel blocked traffic for several hours in the city centre.
The Europe-wide protests come as fighting continues to rage around Kobane. The United States-led coalition carried out more air strikes to try to aid Syrian Kurds defenders.
Observers say at least 400 people have died in three weeks of fighting for Kobane. An estimated 160,000 people in Syria have fled their homes.
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US ambassador: Swiss are at start of terrorism debate
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“In a certain respect it’s a good thing that the danger is now visible in Switzerland,” she said in an interview with the Schweiz am Sonntag. Last month it was reported that three Iraqi nationals had been detained in Switzerland “since the spring” under suspicion of membership and support of the Islamic State. In addition,…
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The office was responding to an NZZ am Sonntag newspaper report that three Iraqi nationals had been in detention “since the spring” under suspicion of membership and support of an illegal organisation. “At least three Iraqi nationals are suspected of founding a cell of the terrorist organization Islamic State (IS) and using it to provide…
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Of those, four have ties to the conflict in Syria, with the rest involved in other jihadist conflicts or in the dissemination of terrorist propaganda, often from within Switzerland. According to the Federal Prosecutor’s Office, some of the 20 cases being investigated involve more than one person accused of supporting terrorist organisations.The office also said…
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.