In a reversal of policy, Turkey said Monday it allow Iraqi Kurds to use Turkish territory to support the besieged Syrian Kurdish city of Kobani. The announcement comes after U.S. forces air-dropped military supplies into the city currently under assault by Islamic State militants.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the Iraqi Kurdish fighters, known as Peshmerga, can cross Turkey’s border with Sryia to join the fight for Kobani.
“We are helping the Peshmerga cross into Kobani,” he said, speaking through an interpretor. “Our discussions are still under way.”
With Kobani under fire on three sides by Islamic State forces, the Turkish frontier is the only possible ground entry for resupplying the border city.
Cavusoglu refused to give any further details on how many fighters and weapons will be given the green light to cross the border. But he said Ankara wants to eliminate threats along the region and is assisting the U.S.-led coalition fighting IS jihadists.
“We are fully cooperating with the coalition with respect to Kobani,” Cavusoglu said. “We want to eliminate all kind of threats in the region and we see the military and medical aid, outfitted by our Iraqi Kurdish brothers and airdropped by the United States to all groups defending Kobani, from that perspective.”
In Kobani, Syrian Kurds, known as the PYD, are calling for heavy weapons, in particular anti-tank missiles, to counter Islamic State tanks.
Ankara has been hesitant in allowing Peshmerga into Kobani to help the PYD. That’s because Turkey accuses the PYD of being linked to the PKK, a rebels that both Ankara and the United States describes are terrorists. The PKK has fought for greater Kurdish rights in Turkey for three decades. On Saturday, Turkish president,Recep Tayyip Erdogan, made clear it believes the two groups have strong ties.
“At the moment, the PYD is equal with the PKK for us. It is also a terrorist organization,” Erdogan said.
