Ronaldo targeted by Chelsea in sensational £70-plus million deal

ROMAN ABRAMOVICH is lining up an overhaul at Chelsea — and plans to build a new team around Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Stamford Bridge supremo is prepared to make Real Madrid an offer they cannot refuse for the Portuguese superstar. And he is willing to sell Eden Hazard, Nemanja Matic and Oscar to fund the sensational move.
Seven defeats in their opening twelve games have seen the Blues flop to 16th spot in the Premier League.
And reports in Spain suggest Abramovich sees the three-time Ballon d’Or winner — who has been strongly linked with a move to Paris Saint-Germain — as the man to revitalise the faltering champions.
The Blues’ nightmare start has led to speculation boss Jose Mourinho could soon be shown the door.
Ronaldo, 30, played under Mourinho in Madrid, but Abramovich will push ahead with the deal regardless of whether the Portuguese coach is still at the club.

D’banj and Don Jazzy planning to work together

Leader of Nigeria’s high flying music crew, MAVIN’s Don Jazzy is one individual who has contributed in no small measure to the growth of the music industry in Nigeria. Over a year ago, the likes of Korede Bello, Reekado Banks and Dija were greenhorns in the industry until Don Dorobucci gave them the track to run their own races. Today, they have grown to become stars in their own right, thanks to Don Jazzy’s masterstroke.

In this interview, head of the Supreme Mavin Dynasty reveals the reason behind the forthcoming Mavin Access Concert, possibility of working with D’banj again, why he won’t release his own album anytime soon and other issues.

Why did it take you this long to put together a concert of this magnitude?

I have been planning things in my head but then, it’s now that we are going live. There is no point doing something when you don’t have content. I am a perfectionist, so, until I know that I have what it takes to do one, I won’t do it. I would have come out to say let’s organize a concert, but if you don’t have correct content there is no point doing one

Will D’banj be performing at this concert?

Right now I cannot categorically tell you whether he will call me to say: “Oh you are organizing a concert too? I will come o.”But right now, he is not billed to perform at the concert

Do you have plans to have international artistes at the concert?

No.

Will other artistes be performing aside from the Mavins?

It’s a Mavin concert .Obviously you will see other artistes perform. I have done collaborations with a lot of people. I have done collaborations with P-square, Timaya, Olamide and many more. It’s a Mavin’s and friends concert but more emphasis will be placed on the Mavins.

File: Don Jazzy, D’banj, Dr Sid  and others at a recent event.

You are known to be generous; don’t you think you need to work with a foundation to make it official?

I don’t trust some of these foundations. I think it’s just people looking for an opportunity to collect money. I don’t think I need to set up a foundation before I help people. I help people regardless of that. A lot of people have been telling me to set up a foundation. I might do that at a point to satisfy people. For now, it’s not a priority.

What does it take to work with you?

It is important you have the talent and the next thing is for you to locate me. Social media is the best place to find me. Follow me and I will follow you back. I won’t listen to the person’s song if I think that the person looks like a trouble maker. Some people might tell you they sent you a song and you now made it your own. Another issue is creating time for it.

 Your label mates have been recording songs back to back, what is responsible for that?

We always record, we never stop recording.

When are we getting an album from Reekado Banks, Dija and Korede Bello?

If you ask them now, they will tell you they don’t want to. People drop albums and decline, it’s not good.

What is the secret of your success?

There is no secret, I just work hard

When are you going to release your own album?

I am not going to release an album. Right now, I know that I won’t be releasing an album.  I might consider it, may be if am given money but right now, I don’t see myself doing that.

Do you charge for collabos?

I have never charged for collabos. I am honored to actually be asked to do a collabo with an artiste. I think I have actually done collaborations with almost everyone that had asked for it

Does Don Jazzy have a girlfriend?

I don’t have a girlfriend.

When last were you in a relationship?

A year ago. I am on break now when it comes to a relationship.

 When do you think the time will be right to tie the knots?

I might not even announce that I will be getting married. I don’t understand why you people think I will just come and announce that I will be getting married. I am not really that kind of person.

Why do you avoid the media?

It’s because I don’t know how to talk to you people.

Would you be collaborating with Dbanj any time soon ?

It is possible. We will do it when we both settle down and agree we want to do it. He is busy doing his own thing and I am also busy with my Korede , Reekado and Dija .We live in the same vicinity. By the time we sit down and plan it, we would create something. We would probably work again. As long as there is life, there is nothing impossible.

You interact with a lot of people on social media, how do you sieve the people you interact with?

Why should I sieve them? If they come correct, we will talk. If they don’t come correct, I move on. I have met a lot of people via the social media.

Would you be signing a rapper anytime soon?

Yes, I have signed a couple of them, but you are yet to meet them.

Would you be releasing your own single anytime soon?

I am not thinking of that now. I have people that need to succeed. I am happy developing people for now till death do me part. Already, I feel that I am singing too much.

Would you be signing more artistes?

Well, it depends on the ones that I see, but I need to push my present artistes to a certain level before signing new ones. I think they are really growing very fast. If I feel that they have gotten to certain level where they can be on their own, then I can sign on new artistes.

What happened to the signature Don Jazzy stick?

It’s at home. Change is constant. I hardly use it because one has to rebrand. You can’t be doing the same thing over and over again. You will see it at the concert..

vanguardnrg

EU leaders offer nearly $2 billion aid to Africa to stem migrant crisis

(CNN)The European Union has launched an emergency fund for Africa to tackle the spiraling number of migrants flooding its shores -- as Europe faces its worst refugee crisis since World War II.

The nearly $2 billion fund was unveiled at the end of a two-day summit of EU and African leaders in Malta. The fund will support projects to combat poverty, slow down migration and speed up repatriation programs. This new money is in addition to the 20 billion euros annually donated to Africa by the EU and its 28 states.

This is the sixth time that presidents and prime ministers of the European Union have tried to tackle the issue.

"We are under no illusions that we can improve the situation overnight, but we are committed to giving people alternatives to risking their lives," said European Council President Donald Tusk.

Tusk listed five major goals to stem the tide of migrants: "The elements of action plan are designed to, one, address the root causes of migration; two, enhance cooperation on legal migration and mobility; three, reinforce protection of displaced persons; four, prevent and fight against migrant smuggling and trafficking in human beings; and five, advance on returning persons that are not entitled to stay in Europe."

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said that while some may argue that the fund was not enough, he stressed it was an important first step.

The Mediterranean island nation of Malta is the smallest member of the European Union. Located about 90 kilometers (56 miles) south of Sicily, it has become one of the destinations for those fleeing Syria's bloody civil war.

"I for one am a very vocal critic of the fact that we maybe started acting a little bit too late when too many lives were lost at sea... ," Muscat said, adding that he hoped the summit "sowed the seeds of something that can be much more long term."

European Council President Tusk also confirmed plans for a summit with Turkey by the end of this year, seen as the key to resolving the crisis.

18 die Wednesday off western coast of Turkey

Even as Europe tries to forge a unified response to the crisis, tens of thousands continue to embark on perilous journeys, desperate to escape the repression, violence, poverty and insecurity in North Africa, West Africa and the Middle East.

They come from more than 20 nations and with different motivations. Some are Syrians fleeing war. Others are Eritreans escaping repression or Somalis fleeing Al-Shabaab.

Many die in their attempt to find a safe haven.

On Wednesday, hours before the EU meeting was scheduled to convene, at least 18 people died off the western coast of Turkey in two boat incidents.

Mountains of life jackets piled up on the beaches of the Greek island of Lesbos offer a startling testimony to the scale of the problem.

The EU border agency Frontex, which tracks the movement of people, says 540,000 migrants arrived on Greek islands in the first 10 months of 2015. This figure is 13 times higher than in the same period of 2014.

Syrians account for the largest number of arrivals, according to the Frontex website. In recent weeks the share of Afghan nationals has risen significantly.

Frontex has called for more than 250 officers to help screen, fingerprint and register migrants.

Sweden tightens border controls

Meanwhile, Sweden has joined the list of countries which have tightened border controls.

The Ministry of Home Affairs said it will implement temporary border controls for 10 days, that could be extended to 20 days at some point, according to Fredrik Persson, a spokesman for the ministry.

Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Löfven defended the move, telling CNN: "This is not closing the border, the decision we have taken is to reintroduce internal border controls... if a person comes to our country seeking asylum he or she will be given that opportunity."

CNN's

Human trafficking survivor: I was raped 43,200 times

 

Mexico City (CNN)Karla Jacinto is sitting in a serene garden. She looks at the ordinary sights of flowers and can hear people beyond the garden walls, walking and talking in Mexico City.

She looks straight into my eyes, her voice cracking slightly, as she tells me the number she wants me to remember -- 43,200.

By her own estimate, 43,200 is the number of times she was raped after falling into the hands of human traffickers.

She says up to 30 men a day, seven days a week, for the best part of four years -- 43,200.

#FlyToFreedom: You can help end modern slavery

Her story highlights the brutal realities of human trafficking in Mexico and the United States, an underworld that has destroyed the lives of tens of thousands of Mexican girls like Karla. 

Read More

Human trafficking has become a trade so lucrative and prevalent, that it knows no borders and links towns in central Mexico with cities like Atlanta and New York.

U.S. and Mexican officials both point to a town in central Mexico that for years has been a major source of human trafficking rings and a place where victims are taken before being eventually forced into prostitution. The town is called Tenancingo.

Mistreated from the age of 5

 

Karla says she was abused for as long as she can remember and felt rejected by her mother. "I came from a dysfunctional family. I was sexually abused and mistreated from the age of 5 by a relative,' she says.

When she was 12 she was targeted by a trafficker who lured her away using kind words and a fast car.

She says she was waiting for some friends near a subway station in Mexico City, when a little boy selling sweets came up to her, telling her somebody was sending her a piece of candy as a gift.

Five minutes later, Karla says, an older man was talking to her, telling her that he was a used car salesman.

The initial awkwardness disappeared as soon as the man started telling her that he was also abused as a boy. He was also very affectionate and quite a gentleman, she says.

They exchanged phone numbers and when he called a week later, Karla says she got excited. He asked her to go on a trip to nearby Puebla with him and dazzled her by showing up driving a bright red Firebird Trans Am.

"When I saw the car I couldn't believe it. I was very impressed by such a big car. It was exciting for me. He asked me to get in the car to go places," she says.

'Red flags' were everywhere

It didn't take long for the man, who at 22 was 10 years older than Karla, to convince her to leave with him, especially after Karla's mother didn't open the door one night when she came home a little too late.

"The following day I left with him. I lived with him for three months during which he treated me very well. He loved on me, he bought me clothes, gave me attention, bought me shoes, flowers, chocolates, everything was beautiful," Karla says.

But there were red flags everywhere also.

Karla says her boyfriend would leave her by herself for a week in their apartment. His cousins would show up with new girls every week. When she finally mustered the courage to ask what business they were in, he told her the truth. "They're pimps," he said.

"A few days later he started telling me everything I had to do; the positions, how much I need to charge, the things I had to do with the client and for how long, how I was to treat them and how I had to talk to them so that they would give me more money," Karla says.

Opinion: How human trafficking victims can fight back

Four years of hell

It was the beginning of four years of hell. The first time she was forced to work as a prostitute she was taken to Guadalajara, one of Mexico's largest cities.

"I started at 10 a.m. and finished at midnight. We were in Guadalajara for a week. Do the math. Twenty per day for a week. Some men would laugh at me because I was crying. I had to close my eyes so that that I wouldn't see what they were doing to me, so that I wouldn't feel anything," Karla says.

There would be several other cities. She would be sent to brothels, roadside motels, streets known for prostitution and even homes. There were no holidays or days off, and after the first few days, she was made to see at least 30 customers a day, seven days a week.

Karla tells how she was attacked by her trafficker after a john gave her a hickey. "He started beating me with a chain in all of my body. He punched me with his fists, he kicked me, pulled my hair, spit at me in the face, and that day was when he also burned me with the iron. I told him I wanted to leave and he was accusing me of falling in love with a customer. He told me I like being a whore."

READ: Who's fighting human trafficking?

And then came a child...

One day, when she was working at a hotel known for prostitution, police showed up. They kicked out of all of the customers, Karla says, and shut down the hotel. She thought it was her lucky day -- a police operation to rescue her and the other girls.

Her relief turned quickly to horror when the officers, about 30 she says, took the girls to several rooms and started shooting video of them in compromising positions. The girls were told the videos would be sent to their families if they didn't do everything they asked.

"I thought they were disgusting. They knew we were minors. We were not even developed. We had sad faces. There were girls who were only 10 years old. There were girls who were crying. They told the officers they were minors and nobody paid attention," Karla says. She was 13 years old at the time.

In her nightmare world even a pregnancy was cause for horror not joy.

Karla gave birth at 15 to a girl -- a baby fathered by the pimp who would use the daughter to tighten the noose around her neck: if she didn't fulfill his every wish, he would either harm or kill the baby.

He took the baby away from her a month after the baby was born, and she was not allowed to see her again until the girl was more than a year old.

Karla Jacinto was finally rescued in 2008 during an anti-trafficking operation in Mexico City.

Her ordeal lasted four very long and tormenting years. She was still a minor, only 16, when it ended -- but she has endured a lifetime of horror that will stay with her as long as she lives.

CNN independently verified portions of Karla's story. We have spoken with the United Against Human Trafficking group she was referred to after being rescued, and to senior officials at Road to Home, a shelter where Karla lived for one year after her rescue. Due to the clandestine nature of the human trafficking business, corroborating everything Karla told us is not possible.

Opinion: The myth of child prostitution

'Take the blindfold off your eyes'

Karla is now 23 years old. She has become an outspoken advocate against human trafficking, telling her story at conferences and public events.

She told her story to Pope Francis in July at the Vatican. She also told the U.S. Congress in May.

Her testimony was used as evidence in support for H.R. 515 or Megan's Law that mandates U.S. authorities share information pertaining to American child sex offenders when these convicts attempt to travel abroad.

Her message is that human trafficking and forced prostitution still happens and is a growing problem in our world.

Karla says: "These minors are being abducted, lured, and yanked away from their families. Don't just listen to me. You need to learn about what happened to me and take the blindfold off your eyes."

Doing nothing, she says, puts countless girls at risk of being trafficked for years and raped tens of thousands of times, just like she was

Obama congratulates Suu Kyi on election success in Myanmar

(CNN)President Obama spoke by phone with Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday to congratulate her on the success of Suu Kyi's National League of Democracy in the Myanmar elections, the White House press office said Thursday.

The NLD has won 327 seats so far and needs two more seats to win a majority in the country's parliament, the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw. It will take at least two weeks to tabulate all the results, a presidential spokesman told CNN.

In his conversation with Suu Kyi, Obama noted that formation of a new government "could be an important step forward in the nation's democratic transition," the White House said. He praised her efforts to create a more inclusive government in Myanmar, also known as Burma.

The president also spoke by phone with Myanmar President Thein Sein. The two leaders talked about the importance for all parties to respect official results and to work together to form a new government, the White House said.

The landmark election is seen as a test of the powerful military's willingness to let the country continue along a path toward full democracy, after decades of military-dominated rule. In an encouraging sign, Thein Sein recently agreed to meet with Suu Ky.

Suu Kyi won a seat in the Kawhmu constituency in Yangon, the country's largest city, the Union Election Commission said Wednesday.

But the Nobel Peace laureate can't become president. A change in Myanmar's constitution, drafted by the military, prevents anyone with foreign family members from becoming the nation's leader.

Suu Kyi's late husband was British and her children hold British passports.

CNN's Manny Maung, Ed Payne and Phil Robertson contributed to this report.

Hillary Clinton celebrates Myanmar vote and her role in it

 

Washington (CNN)Hillary Clinton is claiming a share of the credit after elections in Myanmar delivered a landslide win for the democratic opposition.

The results from Sunday's vote came after a political opening that Clinton helped nurture and that forms a central part of her legacy as secretary of state.

The Democratic front-runner released a statement that was careful to note remaining obstacles to full democracy in the Southeast Asian nation and to share credit with her old boss, President Barack Obama.

But she also stressed her own key role in nudging the former generals in charge of Myanmar, also known as Burma, toward reform, hinting at the importance of the election to her own political prospects, given that her time as the top U.S. diplomat lacks a long list of clear diplomatic triumphs.

Clinton is likely to use the election in Myanmar to fend off claims by Republicans -- who universally targeted her at their latest campaign debate on Tuesday night -- that her tenure as secretary of state was an unmitigated disaster, following reversals on the "reset" of relations with Russia that she managed and the Western intervention in Libya.

 

Read More

READ: Myanmar election: Suu Kyi to meet with President

"The Burmese election on Sunday was an important, though imperfect, step forward in the country's long journey toward democracy," Clinton said in a statement issued on Wednesday night. "It was also an affirmation of the indispensable role the United States can and should play in the world as a champion of peace and progress."

A long road ahead

Though final results are not yet in, the election delivered a huge victory for Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy and a defeat for the military establishment that has ruled the country for decades.

Though Suu Kyi is prevented by the constitution from becoming president, she has indicated she will nominate a figurehead from her party for the post and she experts to effectively rule the country as the power behind the throne.

Clinton stressed that one election does not a democracy make and that the country has a long road ahead on national reconciliation and constitutional reform. But she said promoting political change in a nation like Myanmar was exactly the kind of goal that U.S. foreign policy should pursue -- arguing for not just her record but her approach to geopolitics.

"When I was Secretary of State, President Obama and I worked with Aung San Suu Kyi and others on the ground in Burma to nurture flickers of progress into a real opening," Clinton said, praising the Burmese people for their determination. "As President, I will ensure that the United States continues to stand with them and with everyone around the world who seeks liberty and dignity."

The 'tantalizing' prospect of democracy

The Myanmar election also represents a gain for Obama's policy of rebalancing U.S. foreign policy toward Asia and his signature strategy of being willing to talk to American foes -- like Myanmar's military leaders -- as he prepares for a trip to Asia next week.

Obama spoke to Myanmar President Thein Sein on Wednesday night to commend the government on its role in running the election. The White House said the leaders agreed that the formation of a new government would be an "important step forward in Burma's democratic transition."

Obama also spoke to Suu Kyi to congratulate her on the NLD's success after years of persecution, which included her own long periods of house arrest.

"The President commended her for her tireless efforts and sacrifice over so many years to promote a more inclusive, peaceful, and democratic Burma," a second White House statement said.

Clinton devoted an entire chapter in her memoir "Hard Choices" to Myanmar, presenting herself as the decisive driver of the U.S. effort to bring the country in from the cold and toward the "tantalizing" prospect of democracy.

"I had my eyes open about the risks, but when I weighed up all the factors, I didn't see how we could pass up this opportunity," Clinton wrote, saying she was keen to prod the generals running the country to move toward political reform but wary of embracing them too fast.

A grim, Orwellian place

And it is indisputable that Myanmar has come a long way since Washington spotted a chance to push the reform process in 2009.

For decades before the political thaw, it was a grim, Orwellian place, stifled by an insidious national security apparatus and isolated from the world by a paranoid military junta that used poverty and repression as instruments of power.

But the blossoming of economic and political freedoms changed life in a ramshackle nation where even Internet and mobile phones are a recent luxury. Hundreds of political dissidents were freed from hellish military prisons and Suu Kyi -- after years under house arrest -- is now a member of parliament.

READ: On the road: Myanmar

The United States, meanwhile, has lifted many of its sanctions on the Myanmar government and sent an ambassador back to the country. In late 2011, Clinton was the first U.S. secretary of state to visit Burma since the military clamped down in 1962.

Critics, however, point to the military's engineering of the electoral system to weight it in its favor and say that shows the reform process in Myanmar is not as clear a triumph as Clinton might like to portray it.

Though the army has withdrawn from front-line politics and Sein Thein has taken off his uniform, Myanmar's constitution still guarantees the military the right to appoint lawmakers to 25% of seats in parliament, whatever the result of the election.

Some critics also believe that Obama's visit to Myanmar in 2012 -- on a trip that triggered extraordinary scenes of Burmese on the streets mobbing his motorcade -- was too soon.

Meanwhile, continued violence against the persecuted Muslim Rohingya minority and multiple civil wars that have raged since the country's independence from Britain in 1948 also undermine the idea that Burma is a success story.

Clinton seems to have anticipated many of the problems and noted in her book that when she left office, Myanmar's fate still hung in the balance.

"Burma could keep moving forward, or it could slide backward," Clinton wrote.

'More good than harm'

There's also the complication of just how big a share Clinton should get of whatever credit there is to claim.

"The policy of engagement that the Obama administration adopted was helpful," said Lex Rieffel, a Brookings Institution economist who has studied Myanmar and visited many times. "It did more good than harm as opposed to the sanctions policy. (But) let's not attribute the changes in that country to U.S. policy."

In her book, Clinton writes that she spotted an opportunity in early trips to Asia to work on Myanmar, especially after Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono told her during her first visit to Asia as secretary of state in February 2009 that the generals might be interested in a dialogue with the United States.

She also coordinated closely with Suu Kyi.

Marveling at iPhones

But while Clinton did play an important role in mentoring the process, the primary motive for Myanmar's opening appears to have been rooted in local and geopolitical factors.

"Burma's opening was mainly a process driven by Burmese leaders, rather than the U.S., as they sought to create strategic space against China and generate economic growth through greater exposure to the world," said Daniel Twining, an Asia expert who worked in the State Department during the Bush administration.

There was clearly an impulse from within the Myanmar government to shake free of self-imposed isolation. The country's poverty and lack of access to outside capital because of U.S. and European sanctions contrasted sharply with economic development in a region where states like Thailand and Indonesia were roaring ahead.

U.S. officials have privately shared stories about how the gulf between Myanmar and its fast-rising Southeast Asian neighbors was brought home at regional summits when ministers from Myanmar marveled at innovations like iPhones sported by their counterparts in other countries.

Such nuanced verdicts, like the one on Myanmar, often have a tendency to get exaggerated on the campaign trail, and any attempt by Clinton's supporters to paint her Myanmar policy as a Nixon-to-China moment would be overblown.

But if the successful election translates into an enduring milestone on Myanmar's rocky road to eventual democracy, she would be justified in claiming an important role in an unlikely political transformation.

Kurds launch offensive to take Sinjar from ISIS

Sinjar, Iraq (CNN)Plumes of smoke blackened the sky above Sinjar as Kurdish forces, backed by intense coalition air support, tried Thursday to take back the northern Iraqi town from ISIS.

The operation includes up to 7,500 Peshmergas -- the Kurdish military force -- who are attacking the city from three sides to take control of supply routes, according to the Kurdish Region Security Council .

CNN senior international correspondent Nick Paton Walsh is with one of the three fronts of fighters who launched their liberation operation early Thursday morning against a backdrop of airstrikes.

"A pitch-black sky was lit up by a lot of coalition airstrikes following days of bombing. At dawn, a large procession of Peshmerga started snaking their way through Sinjar mountain and behind it," Paton Walsh said.

The coalition strikes were pounding the strategic city itself, he said, with four different columns of smoke darkening the horizon above: "The strikes on Sinjar almost make the sky over it look black. There's a vast amount of air power -- more intense than the fight for Kobani."

 

 

Liberation from ISIS comes at a cost

Kobani is a Syrian border town that was wrested back from ISIS militants earlier this year after four months of fierce fighting that left parts of it entirely flattened.

Peshmerga and coalition unity

Reclaiming Sinjar is one big step toward dividing the "caliphate" that ISIS claims it is establishing across the region.

The artery that passes through the town links the Iraqi city of Mosul -- ISIS' prized possession -- with cities it holds in Syria.

Paton Walsh said the highway was a key goal for the Kurdish fighters, who were equipped with vehicles ranging from pickup trucks to armored Humvees.

"One of the targets of this offensive is the highway that runs through Sinjar, known as Route No. 47 to many. Now that's very important, not only of course because of what it does to liberate the population of Sinjar -- those who've not fled ISIS rule having endured it now for over a year -- but also because it is a vital supply route towards Mosul, another key target of any future coalition offensive," he said.

About 1.5 million people still live in Mosul, where prices are rising and activists report hunger.

The U.S.-backed coalition Operation Inherent Resolve said "Operation Free Sinjar" was aimed at clearing ISIS from Sinjar and seizing portions of Highway 47.

"By controlling Highway 47, which is used by Da'ish to transport weapons, fighters, illicit oil, and other commodities that fund their operations, the Coalition intends to increase pressure on Da'ish and isolate their components from each other," it said in a statement. Da'ish is the Arabic acronym for ISIS.

 

ISIS hates this religious group the most

ISIS hates this religious group the most 01:57

"This operation will degrade Da'ish's resupply efforts, disrupt funding to the terrorist group's operations, stem the flow of Da'ish fighters into Iraq, and further isolate Mosul from Ar Raqqah," said coalition spokesman Col. Christopher C. Garver. The Syrian city of Ar Raqqah, also spelled Raqqa, is ISIS' de facto capital.

By Thursday afternoon, the Kurdish fighters pushing toward Sinjar had taken control of a number of villages near the Iraqi town.

"Along that highway there's one village, Kabara, that's been repeatedly hammered by airstrikes in the past hour or so and a lot of Kurdish forces have managed to move into the main road," Paton Walsh said. Tweets by Kurdish fighters showed that almost all the vehicles in the village had been "burned to a crisp."

 

A tough slog

Before the push to retake Sinjar began, Kurdish fighters said they knew it wouldn't be easy.

Peshmerga commanders estimate some 600 ISIS fighters are inside Sinjar, with recent reinforcements boosting the militants' numbers. The Kurdish fighters believe they will encounter hundreds of landmines and booby traps.

Paton Walsh said it was unclear how ISIS would respond to the offensive.

"As you've seen in the past, sometimes ISIS have decided that certain fights are not worth them staying for the long haul, and I think there is a certain amount of manpower and mass here -- and also coalition air power, which we heard from the top of Mount Sinjar, during a very dark, cold night yesterday, pound targets consistently around that particular city."

Paton Walsh said there had been a "substantial uptick" in airstrikes on Sinjar in the days leading up to the launch of the offensive.

How will ISIS respond?

"I think the issue will be for ISIS, given the nature of the offensive -- from three different directions -- quite what their best strategy is: to sit here and try and symbolically hold it as long as they can, or pull out," he said.

"ISIS of course may also be feeling pressure on other fronts. There's been a lot of talk about the possibility of a move against Ramadi for the past few months.

They survived ISIS, but may not survive the winter

They survived ISIS, but may not survive the winter 02:47

"We've not seen any evidence of that at this particular stage but there is a genuine feeling that maybe the coalition -- after months of paralysis, months of calm -- might also slowly be beginning to get some kind of harmony or synchronicity here in terms of moving on separate fronts against ISIS and perhaps stretching what resources they have a little bit thinner."

A coalition spokesman in Baghdad told reporters later Thursday that Iraqi security forces had begun to encircle Ramadi, with support from coalition air power.

ISIS fighters swept into Ramadi in May, tightening control of Iraq's Anbar province and gaining a base of operations about 110 kilometers (70 miles) away from the capital, Baghdad.

Paton Walsh said the operation to retake Sinjar was important symbolically.

"The Peshmerga here want to show that they can be united with coalition air power, with Western military advisers, who we understand are in their midst here as well, to launch a successful -- and they hope brief -- offensive towards this town, but also strategically, because of what Sinjar could mean in the future, down the line."

 

 

He said the Kurdish fighters appeared optimistic they would take back Sinjar.

"I think the hope amongst the Peshmerga and the coalition is that the level of manpower they have here, their dominance in the skies, means potentially this could be over in days," he said. "But with a town of this size which had tens of thousands living in it before -- which ISIS has had months to prepare for an onslaught against -- this could turn out to be trickier than some are hoping."

Retired Lt. Col. Rick Francona, a CNN military analyst, agreed that the fight in Sinjar would be slow going.

"They're going to have to slog through this house by house, street by street," he said. "It's going to be very difficult."

More than a year under ISIS

 

From 2014: Dramatic rescue as Yazidis flee ISIS 02:10

The world watched in horror last year as some 50,000 Yazidis, who live in the region, scrambled up Mount Sinjar to escape the ISIS onslaught. About 5,000 men and boys in Sinjar and nearby villages were massacred, according to U.N. estimates, while teenage girls and women were sold into slavery.

Since then, Sinjar has become a chaotic jumble of demolished buildings held by ISIS fighters.

"There is no reliable estimate as to how many civilians live still inside of Sinjar," Paton Walsh said.

"You can tell how many seem to have fled, from the tents the Yazidis have erected up around Mount Sinjar -- even in this bitter cold -- still enduring a life here, wanting to be near their hometown. But that is the key concern obviously in situations like this. Many will be fearing that the amount of lead-up time has given ISIS adequate ability to ensure the civilian population are in place to assist them in protecting themselves."

The Peshmerga said they wanted to establish a buffer zone to protect the civilian population, but it was not entirely clear how that would physically work, Paton Walsh said.

Neighbors unite

With the operation to retake the town looming, some 5,000 Yazidi fighters were mobilized under the command of the Kurdish Peshmerga. Most are farmers; a very few have military experience.

The Yazidis are one of the world's smallest and oldest monotheistic religious minorities. Their religion is considered a pre-Islamic sect that draws from Christianity, Judaism and the ancient monotheistic religion of Zoroastrianism. In ISIS' eyes, they're infidels.

Fleeing ISIS tyranny: Agony of the Yazidis

The Yazidis and Kurds have lived side by side for thousands of years and are friendly neighbors.

The Kurds are Sunni Muslims, who have their own unique language and culture. They occupy an autonomous region in northern Iraq, but the Kurdish homeland also covers portions of Iran, Turkey, Armenia and Syria.

In Snuny, Iraq, a village that sits in the shadow of Mount Sinjar, Peshmerga forces have set up camp and Yazidi civilians have started to return home. Speaking to CNN last week, they vowed to take back Sinjar and exact revenge on ISIS.

CNN's Nima Elbagir, Yousuf Basil, Hamdi Alkhshali and Catherine E. Shoichet contributed to this report.