>> announcer: this is al jazeera. ♪ hello, and welcome to the news hour, live from the al jazeera news center here in doha, i'm martine dennis. these are the stories we'll be looking at. the first peshmerga fighters head to the syrian town of kobani. egypt moves thousands of families from the sinai peninsula to create a buffer zone along its border with gaza.

the leader of bangladesh's largest islamic party is sentenced to death for murders committed more than 40 years ago. more than 5,000 are now thought to have died in the west africa ebola outbreak according to the world health organization. ♪ but first, kurdish forces battling isil in the syrian town of kobani are now being boosted by more fighters. dozens of iraqi kurdish peshmerga are on their way to the border town, a missing on the turkish side of that border town of syria. and rebel fighters have arrived to join the fight for kobani. >> reporter: for turks it's an unprecedented sight. armed kurdish fighters beingest

sorted through turkey by a turkish military convoy. these are iraqi peshmerga. the turkish government is allowing around 150 fighters to transit its territory after pressure from the u.s. to do more to stop kobani falling to isil. turkey has been in conflict with kurdish separatists for more than 30 years, but says the syrian kurds are no different, but turkey doesn't see iraqi kurds as a threat, so it's letting them through. as the convoy made its way, the u.s.-lead coalition launched more air strikes focused on the border crossing. it's there where the peshmerga fight enter syria, and so is a place that has been a focus of repeated assaults from isil fighters. >> instead of finding a way to reconcile between the different parties, the united states now decided to arm more people and

to train more people and this will only prolong the war more, and it will be more heavy than it is now. >> reporter: the peshmerga are bringing heavy weapons with them, it's this hardware that the kurds in kobani say they desperately need. they have held their own with just small arms and grenades as well as air strikes. this is battle where both sides have thousands of fighters, and where isil particularly seems to be able to easily and rapidly replenish its ranks. bernard smith, al jazeera, on the turkey/syria border. we have been speaking to general john allen, who is the u.s. enjoy coordinating the coalition. and he told us about turkey's role in the conflict and what it will take to knock isil back.

>> it's not going to be a short period of time. it's going to take the cooperation of many of the members of the coalition over a period. we're going to combine our efforts in a number of ways to accomplish ultimately the objective of degrading isil and ultimately defeating it. neglect of the operational requirements of the military forces, frankly, sectarian policies, which replaced key leaders within the iraqi security forces, and i think what we are seeing now, what we're hearing now is the iraqi security forces of the future will be the iraqi security forces of all of the people. three training centers where elements of the free syrian army, moderate syrian opposition elements will be brought to those training centers, and they will be trained and equipped and returned intoer issia, where they are conflict operations

against darche and also defend themselves from other elements in syria to include the regime. turkey has made important contributions already to the coalition. we're seeing unfolding today the positive outcome of conversation between the peshmerga, the defenders of kobani and turkey to provide for the ren forcement of kobani, and beyond that, i'll simply say that we are in a conversation with turkey about the role it can play within the coalition and ultimately dealing with darche. hundreds of egyptians living in northern sinai are being forced to leave their homes for a planned buffer zone. egypt says the zone is designed to stop attackers from getting into northern sinai. >> reporter: they have been leaving with whatever they can carry, abandoning homes and

livelihoods with what they say is no hope of returning. they are some of the hundreds of people who live within 300 meters of the border crossing, along .egypt's border. the egyptian go says it's to become a buffer zone to protect the border and keep attackers and weapons out. the buffer zone will eventually expand to 500 meters. and include water-filled trenches to stop people from digging tunnels. more than 680 homes are to be destroyed to create it. >> translator: around 600 houses have been evacuated so far, but still there are some families refusing to leave. they say it is better for them to die in their homes. the army has threatened to destroy the houses even if the families haven't left. >> reporter: the decision to force people out of the area

follows an escalation in the fighting in egypt's north sinai over the last three years. that violence spiked on friday when an attack on an army post in north sinai killed 31 solders. the worst against egypt's military personnel in years. egypt declared a state of emergency there. hamas, which controls the gaza strip has been accused of supporting fighters angered by the remove of egyptian president morsi in a coup last year. it's something hamas denies and it's officials are angry at egypt for imposing stricter border rules. egyptian officials are still discussing compensation with the hundreds of people now forced to

give up their homes. but staying is not an option. anyone still there when the deadline expires has been threatened with arrest. all right. let's leave aside the humanitarian aspect of that aspect for now, and talk to eric, who is a senior fellow at the washington institute. can we talk a little bit then about the security concerns. because it seems the egyptian government has moved very swiftly indeed following those attacks on the military in which more than 30 soldiers were killed. >> well security concerns are real. we should remember that egypt is actually in a two-front war against jihadis, you have two groups and other smaller organizations operating in the sinai, you have jihadis presumably coming over from libya who have staged attacks in the western desert against security forces, so egypt is trying very hard to get a handle

on a very real terrorist threat. >> and what do these armed groups actually want? >> what they seem to want is -- is what armed groups want all over the region, which is power and control. now it's true that the attacks have intensified since morsi was ousted in july of 2013, but we should remember these groups were there before morsi's ousting, and that they have really used his ousting as an excuse but it's not as if these are groups that would have otherwise been running for parliament or trying to print newspapers. these are violent terrorist organizations that are trying to build their own vision on egyptian territory. >> and how credible then are these allegations against palestinians in the gaza strip and more specifically, hamas for supporting these groups? >> well, it doesn't seem likely that hamas is supporting these groups. it's more plausible that the

flow of weapons really across egypt from libya into gaza, you know, also meant more weapons in -- in sinai, and that therefore, you know, hamas's control of gaza, and it's desire to import more weapons for its own fight against israel has further militarized the sinai, so we can't completely divorce the situation in gaza from the situation in sinai, but is there strong evidence that hamas has a hand in these attacks, no. >> what about the belingered palestinians living in the gaza strip who only managed recently to get the rafa crossing opening. they depend so much on that opening given the total boycott by the israelis. that presumably they are going to feel the impact of that pretty seriously. >> well, they will, there's no question about that, but right

now, and understandably so, the priority for the egyptian government is of course, finding a way to handle this two-front war against jihadis. you can question the way they are going about that, but we should also remember that egyptians are for lack of a better word panicked. they have seen a deteriorating situation in their country over the last couple of years. they see a two-front war against jihadis, and many egyptians are demanding aggressive action on the part of the egyptian government. is this action that will actually address the problem? i think there's some reason to question that for sure, but we should be aware of how -- how threatening this situation looks from cairo. >> okay. thank you very much indeed, talking to us live from washington, d.c. >> thank you. now al jazeera continues to demand the immediate release of its three journalists who now

been detained in egypt for 305 days. peter greste, mohammed fahmy, and baher mohamed are wrongly accused of helping the out lawed muslim brotherhood. al jazeera rejects the charges against them. now the zambian vice president has been named interim leader ahead of fresh elections. he will be the first whitehead of state in african for decades. he is temporarily succeeding the president who died in the hospital from an undisclosed illness. >> reporter: the phrase if at first you don't succeed, try and try again, this described the late savm beeian president. he lost elections three times running as an opposition leader, but kept trying. on his fourth attempt he finally won, and the move to a democracy

party which had held power for the previous 20 years. he initially made foreign investors nervous. while in the opposition, he criticized china's investments in sam bee -- zambia. but when he took over he toned down his outlook. >> have the quality of the life of the people improved? i don't very much. has the infrastructure or development in the country improved significantly? i don't think. but there are some infrastructure that have been put in place. the economy has grown. but not grown to a very high level. you don't hear people talking of

zambia as being the place to invest, the place with the highest gdp growth. >> reporter: on the political front critics said his rule was questionable. his administration cracked down on homosexuality which is illegal in zambia. he had shown signs of aging when he was elected in 2011. he fulfilled his dream of becoming zambia's fifth president. he had his supporters and enemies. in an country that has experienced economy highs and lows, he managed to keep zambia relatively stable economically and politically. >> okay. let's talk more now to al jazeera's mohammed who is here in the studio with me. and mo, undisclosed illness, why do so many african leaders

remain coy about their state of health? >> well, if they know they are on the wall, the jostling for their position is very vicious. and they don't want to see realignments. so they feel it's much safer if they just, you know, ignore it, and continue. and this is a decision many african leaders would take. they would keep their health conditions in secrecy, and not only when they are in office, but also long after they are departed. we don't know actually what killed him. we don't know what killed [ inaudible ]. we don't know what killed [ inaudible ]. so this is something that they do to continue holding on to power. >> and yet it seems very much as though in this vacuum, whilst there is this ignorance, this

lack of knowledge about the state of health, the irk you of succession is unaddressed, and we know that zambia has just narrowly averted a constitutional crisis by agreeing to put guy scott in position for at least 90 days. >> indeed. and also if you remember, mr. scott was not the acting president in the absence of the president, it was somebody else. and now it has been decided that he should assume the position. so it's all about power games that african leaders play. however, we see marked improvement in the issue of how succession is handled in africa, and examples that come to find are ghana, ethiopia, and also malawi where the deputies all took over in very smooth and well orchestrated succession.

>> the other issue is the fact that so many african leaders get treated abroad and then die abroad. they don't stay home and are treated by facilities that their own people have to use. >> indeed. it's because they have not invested enough in their country's medical facilities. and they have the means to go out there and seek that highly impressive and sophisticated health care. the people don't have that option. and this is one of the things that many africans feel is an insult to them. because heads of state do not invest in their -- in their -- in their issue. and also if you are sick in health care abroad, chances are if your time comes, you will die abroad. and there are many african leaders who have died while being treated for different illnesses abroad.

for example the former president of zambia himself, and [ inaudible ] died in belgium, and the former president of [ inaudible ] died in barcelona, the president of nigeria sighed in saudi arabia. and many people feel this is very shameful. >> it's always fascinating to talk to you. thank you. now thousands of people have died and nearly 2 million people are displaced within their country, this within the ten months of fighting in south sudan, and south sudan's president has been speaking about the conflict to al jazeera, and he explains that the country still lacks political unity, and it's up to his rival to make the difference. >> if you are really interested in -- to know when will the -- the peace come to south sudan, you better ask my rival. because for me, i am for peace.

i have never attacked him in his position. he is the one attacking. >> reporter: but you'll have to compromise, won't you? >> i don't compromise the law. when i talk to somebody and he understands me. >> reporter: so this idea that you both share power, is that feasible? >> no, there is no sharing of power here. there is to be an agreement, if we reach an agreement to stop fighting, we will go for elections. >> you can see the full interview with the president here on talk to al jazeera to be shown on saturday. you can also watch it on sunday, and at 1930 greenwich meantime. so no excuses. still to come, india's hunt for black money, as they call it. the government gives a list of people, many of whom may have

stashed their cash abroad. and russia offers help after a u.s. supply rocket explodes on the way to the international space station. ♪ the world health organization says the death toll from ebola has now likely exceeded 5,000. but with difficulty getting accurate data from much of west africa, the real figure could be a lot higher. let's take a look at the last ten months now and how this outbreak has been unfolding. >> reporter: the virus has found in animal's biological secretions, if you are in contact with it, you run the risk of getting infected. >> translator: we immediately sent samples to two laboratories and we had the confirmation that it was ebola. >> translator: we have been put

out of business. if we can't sell our meat, our families are going to go hungry. >> translator: certain members of the familiar escaped our control, and through their movement have increased the number of infections in certain areas. >> these borders are quite porous in fact, so we need to be careful there, and we need to be prepared. >> we don't have to wait for a confirmation. this is ebola until proven otherwise. >> if they [ inaudible ] ten more will be in facted. >> the outbreak in west africa meets the criteria under international health regulations for a public health emergency of international concern. >> heavy death toll among health workers depletes one of the most vital assets in the control of any outbreak.

>> the government will consider if the result shows that the spread is minimized. >> to win a war, you can run and hide somewhere, you can go outside of the boundaries of sierra leone. with ebola there's nowhere to run to, because the countries you will run to are refusing you to run there. >> it is spiralling out of control. it's getting worse. it's spreading faster and exponentially. >> someone who had contact with this individual, a family member or other individual could develop ebola in the coming weeks, but there is no doubt in my mind that we will stop it here. >> you do not have enough food for [ inaudible ]. >> exclusion, restriction is not the appropriate response to this.

>> let's talk now to isaac who is a specialist in infectious diseases at the toronto general hospital and university health network. he joins us via skype from toronto. thank you for joining us at this grim juncture where we're looking at 5,000 if not plus deaths from this outbreak. but can we talk specifically about screening, because i suppose that is the issue that has quite a lot of controversy at the moment. how scientific is this issue of screening? >> yeah, that's a great question. and screening certainly offers a line of defense. it's just a very, very thin line of defense. usually screening refers to screening people who are leaving the affected countries. and that means screening at the airports where they are departing from or at the airports where they are

arriving. with the ebola virus, the incubation period from the time one becomes infected to the time one systems system mattic is quite long. but most people have an incubation period of eight to nine days. so screening is not the most efficient mode to detect cases, because people could be without symptoms for very, very long periods of time. you have to get lucky that they have symptoms and you can detect these symptoms when they are either leaving or arriving at a final decemberation. it could be five hours to 24 hours later. so like i said it is a line of defense, it's just a very thin line of defense. >> it could seem to me then that the most effective form of defense would be to deal with it at source, then for the international community to fly resources in this area, the three mainly affected countries,

liberia, sierra leone, and guinea. is that the best way of handling this? >> in my opinion i think that's 100% accurate. i think obviously we should stop this infection at the source, and by controlling the infection in the infected countries, we for one thing help these acted countries with disease transmission, and hopefully it spills over into more political stability. and we protect the region from spillover through neighboring countries, and also spillover through other distant international regions. yes, i would agree, pouring resources into the three affects countries now is where we should focus most of our attention. in addition to that, airport screening might offer a line of defense, just a thin line of

defense, and then, of course, we have to be aware that passengers might board airplanes and land very far away from these affects countries, and our front line medical staff and public health networks need to be ready to handle cases that are imported. so we have already been tested a couple of times -- at least in the united states there has been the case in dallas and a more recent case in new york, so we have to be ready -- before that there was the case in nigeria, so we have to be ready for our medical staff and public healthcare staff have to be ready to handle such cases. >> so constantly we'll being reminded this is a global problem. can you understand that that foot dragging that is going on in terms of -- of sending resources in, it seems very much as though the international community has not fully signed up to this. >> i mean, when the outbreak was

first identified in march and -- i guess early april of 2014, many people in the medical and scientific communities were very concerned because here was an infection that is outside of its normal boundary, and it's behaving as it would behave, but it's in urban centers and rural areas, as well. not just rural areas in central africa. so this started to raise alarm bells. and people were saying we should really be concerned because this could get out of control quite quickly, and as you say there was some foot dragging, and only until it has reached quite a severe level and until there has been some international spread have the international communities started to wake up and start pumping resources and logistics into the effected areas. is it enough?

i don't know. i sure hope so. but this is not going to be over any time soon. this is going to take a coordinated and sustained effort to get this under control in the affected areas. >> thank you for giving us your thoughts on the current situation regarding ebola, which of course now we think has claimed 5,000 lives. this is not going to go away. any woman who has "the stream" program is with us here in doha. what have you got? >> hi, there, there's so much going on off line. and there's a tremendous element going on online. so "the stream" team did a little bit of analytics. we took hashtag ebola, and look to see what lapped from march until now. woe found 40 million mentions of

just that hashtag. back in march, in the whole month, about 156,000 used the hashtag. this month, 28 million people, all mentioning that hashtag, and in digging a little bit deeper, 58% of those users were from the united states. if we divide up what is going on online in serm -- terms of sick i can, you can be helpful to incredibly hysterical. let's start with the helpful with at w.h.o. another really helpful site is at cdc.gov, that is a u.s. organization for centers for disease control and prevention. ♪