Jackson Free Press

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Kurdish protesters clashed Tuesday with police in Turkey and forced their way into the European Parliament in Brussels, part of Europe-wide demonstrations against the Islamic State group's advance on a town on the Syrian-Turkish border.

One protester in Turkey was reported killed.

The activists are demanding more help for the besieged Kurdish forces struggling to hold onto the Syrian town of Kobani. Some European countries are arming the Kurds or firing airstrikes against the Islamic extremists, but protesters say it isn't enough.

A demonstrator in Cyprus urged the U.S.-led coalition to "hit the jihadists harder" so that Kurdish forces can hold the town.

Tensions are especially high in Turkey, where Kurds have long been at odds with authorities and where Syria's violence has taken an especially heavy toll.

Protests were reported in at least six cities Tuesday, after Islamic State fighters backed by tanks and artillery engaged in heavy street battles with the town's Kurdish defenders.

A 25-year-old protester was reported killed Tuesday in the town of Varto. The private Dogan news agency said he was killed by gunfire, while the state-run Anadolu Agency reported that he was hit by a gas canister. The pro-Kurdish Firat news agency also reported the death.

Police used water cannons and tear gas to disperse demonstrators in Istanbul and in the desert town of Kucuk Kenderciler, near Kobani on the Turkish side of the border. One person in Istanbul was hospitalized after being hit in the head by a gas canister, Dogan reported.

Some protesters shouted "Murderer ISIS!" and accused Turkey's government of collaborating with the Islamic militants.

Hundreds of thousands of Kurds live elsewhere in Europe, and mobilized quickly via social networks to stage protests after the advance on Kobani. Some European Kurds have gone to the Mideast recently to join Kurdish forces.

In Brussels on Tuesday, about 50 protesters smashed a glass door and pushed past police to get into the European Parliament on Tuesday. Once inside, some protesters were received by Parliament President Martin Schulz, who promised to discuss the Kurds' plight with NATO and EU leaders.

In Germany, home to Western Europe's largest Kurdish population, about 600 people demonstrated in Berlin on Tuesday, according to police. Hundreds demonstrated in other German cities. Austria, too, saw protests.

Kurds peacefully occupied the Dutch Parliament for several hours Monday night, and met Tuesday with legislators to press for more Dutch action against the insurgents, according to local media.

The Netherlands has sent six F-16 fighter jets to conduct airstrikes against Islamic State in Iraq, but says it does not see a mandate for striking in Syria.

France too is firing airstrikes on Islamic State positions in Iraq but not in Syria, wary of implications on international efforts against President Bashar Assad.

"We don't understand why France is acting in Kurdistan in Iraq and not Kurdistan in Syria," said Fidan Unlubayir of the Federation of Kurdish Associations of France.

Kurds protested overnight at the French Parliament and plan another protest Tuesday.

Kurds staged impromptu protests against the Islamic State fighters in Helsinki, Oslo and Stockholm.

On Monday, protesters at the U.S. Embassy in Cyprus urged the international coalition to provide heavy weaponry to Kurdish fighters and forge a military cooperation pact with the Kurdish group YPG.