In a policy reversal, Turkey is to allow Iraqi Kurdish fighters to cross the Syrian border to fight Islamic State (IS) militants in Kobane.
Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu added that talks on the subject were continuing.
Tens of thousands of people have fled months of fighting in Kobane between IS forces and Syrian Kurd defenders.
The announcement came shortly after the US carried out air drops of weapons to Kobane's Kurdish fighters.
InsurgencyTurkey, faced with a long insurgency by its own Kurds, has up till now barred access for Kurdish fighters to Syria.
The government in Ankara fought a decades-long conflict with the PKK, which it brands as a terrorist organisation. The PKK campaigns for greater autonomy in Turkey and has links with the Syrian Kurds defending Kobane.
But Turkey has come under pressure from its own Kurdish population, and more widely, to allow fighters in to help push IS out of Kobane, a town that has become highly symbolic of the wider battle against IS.
"Turkey has no wish see Kobane fall," Mr Cavusoglu added.
The Turkish announcement is a surprise and a significant shift, the BBC's Mark Lowen in Istanbul says.
Only hours before Mr Cavusoglu's comments, the United States military said it had carried out air drops of weapons, ammunition and medical supplies to the Syrian Kurdish fighters around Kobane.
The drops of supplies provided by Kurdish authorities in Iraq were designed to prevent Kobane being taken over, Centcom said in a statement.
Officials said three planes - C130 Hercules - were involved and 27 bundles were delivered.
Justifying the air drops in the face of Turkish misgivings, US Secretary of State John Kerry said it would be "morally difficult" not to support the "valiant Kurds".
"Let me say very respectfully to our allies the Turks that we understand fully the fundamentals of their opposition and ours to any kind of terrorist group and particularly obviously the challenges they face with respect [to] the PKK," Mr Kerry said.
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
Kasra Naji reports on the air drops from the Turkey-Syria border
"But we have undertaken a coalition effort to degrade and destroy ISIL, and ISIL is presenting itself in major numbers in this place called Kobane,'' he added. ISIL is Washington's preferred name for Islamic State.
On Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had said he would not allow Kurdish fighters to receive any transfers of American arms.
A US administration official said President Barack Obama had called Mr Erdogan on Saturday to inform him that the airdrops would be taking place. The official did not say how Mr Erdogan reacted.
Centcom says US forces have conducted more than 135 air strikes against IS in Kobane since early October, killing hundreds of IS militants.
But "Kobane could still fall," it added.
The fighting in Kobane has destroyed many buildings and led to queues of refugees at the Turkish border.
Who are Islamic State (IS)?
Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.
In 60 seconds: What does Islamic State want?
- Formed out of al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) in 2013, IS first captured Raqqa in eastern Syria
- It captured broad swathes of Iraq in June, including Mosul, and declared a "caliphate" in areas it controls in Syria and Iraq
- Pursuing an extreme form of Sunni Islam, IS has persecuted non-Muslims such as Yazidis and Christians, as well as Shia Muslims, whom it regards as heretics
- Known for its brutal tactics, including beheadings of soldiers, journalists and aid workers
- The CIA says the group could have as many as 31,000 fighters in Iraq and Syria
The rapid advance of IS in both Syria and Iraq, where it controls large chunks of territory, has rattled the West prompting the US-led air strikes.
Kobane is a strategic objective for IS, and fierce fighting has raged in the town for weeks, forcing the evacuation of most of its civilian inhabitants.
The IS advance in Syria takes place against the backdrop of the civil war. US-led air strikes are being conducted there without the permission of President Bashar al-Assad, who the West wants to relinquish power.
In Iraq, the air campaign is taking place with the co-operation of the government. The advance of IS there earlier this year has taken it to close to the capital, Baghdad.
The key northern Baiji oil refinery is under constant IS threat, and on Sunday the Iraqi military said it was carrying out an offensive to retake the nearby city of the same name.
In other developments:
- Reports say senior Syrian rebel Abu Essa, the leader of the Raqqa revolutionary brigade, narrowly escaped kidnap by suspected IS militants on Turkish territory, though he was injured
- Iraqi PM Haidar al-Abadi was due in Iran - a key ally of Baghdad in the fight against IS
- A Shia mosque in Baghdad was targeted by a suicide bomber on Monday, killing at least 16, a day after a similar attack that killed at least 18 people
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Turks to let Kurds join Kobane fight
Dengan url
http://worldartikelku.blogspot.com/2014/10/turks-to-let-kurds-join-kobane-fight.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Turks to let Kurds join Kobane fight
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Turks to let Kurds join Kobane fight
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar