CRI听力:UN Chief Calls for Protection of Civilians in Kobane

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has called for immediate action to protect civilians in the northern Syrian town of Kobane as Islamic State militants entered it earlier.

In a statement, the UN chief says he is following with grave concern, the ongoing IS attacks as the group has violated human rights and international law during its previous assaults.

Local officials say about 2,000 civilians have fled to the Turkish border.

The IS militants have already captured three neighborhoods, sparking heavy street fighting with the defending Kurdish forces.

It is reported that the town is now besieged on three sides although US-led air strikes have been used to try to slow the militants' advances.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says it stands ready to defend Turkey if the current clashes spill over.

"What NATO has done is that we have deployed patriot missiles in Turkey. We have done so to enhance the air defence capacity of Turkey, and we are planning to continue to do so and that's a way of enhancing Turkey's ability to protect

themselves against any kind of air attack."

The town of Kobane and surrounding areas have been under attack since mid-September, with Islamic State militants capturing dozens of nearby Kurdish villages.