ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish authorities have blocked a convoy carrying aid to Kobane, a predominantly Kurdish town in northern Syria encircled by the Syrian army, NGOs and a Turkish MP say.

The Syrian government hopes to hold new round of integration talks with Kurdish forces as early as today, a Syrian government official told Reuters on Tuesday.

The failure to support the U.S.-backed militia could create an opening for Islamic State, White House allies say.

QAMISHLI, Syria, Jan 27 (Reuters) - With Syria's Islamist-led government bearing down on Kurdish forces, residents of their last major enclave are on alert, mindful of last year's violence against other minority groups and determined to preserve their self-rule.

Across global demonstrations and in thousands of videos posted online, Kurdish women and their allies have begun braiding their hair in honor of a female Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces fighter. Across global demonstrations and in thousands of videos posted online,

Assad, minority groups in Syria have been targeted with violence. The US and other regional powers have largely stayed silent.

A video of a Syrian fighter holding a braid he claims was taken from a Kurdish woman in Raqqa sparked outrage and protests as Damascus expands control amid a fragile ceasefire.