Turkey confirms it helps KRG Peshmerga reinforcements reach besieged Kobane
ISTANBUL, Turkey – Turkey said on Monday it was helping Kurdistan Region Peshmerga cross into the Syrian border town of Kobane to support Syrian Kurdish fighters who have been battling an Islamic State (ISIS) onslaught there for more than a month.
The announcement by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu appeared to mark a dramatic shift in position by Ankara, which had so far refused to come to the aid of Kobane's Kurdish defenders despite sustained pressure from Washington as well as Kurds in Syria and Turkey.
It also came only hours after the United States said it had air-dropped weapons and medical supplies overnight to Kurdish forces in Kobane for the first time, in a move seen as likely to anger Turkey who views the Kurdish forces across the border with disdain.
“The Iraqi Kurdish regional aministration [Kurdistan Regional Government] has said it was cooperating with Turkey and the United States in order to help Kobane. In fact, we too are helping Peshmerga forces cross into Kobane for support. Our talks on this subject are continuing,” Cavusoglu told a news conference in Ankara without giving further details.
The comments confirmed an earlier Rudaw report from Erbil on Monday that Turkey was giving passage to Peshmerga fighters into Kobane.
The move will be welcomed by Washington which has been trying to get Ankara to take a more robust role in the fight against ISIS. A U.S.-led coalition has been carrying out air strikes on ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria, including more than 135 around Kobane, however, Turkey has refused so far to take part or allow the use of its air bases for offensive operations.
Kurdish forces in Kobane have also been calling on Turkey to allow free passage of its own fighters from other Kurdish areas in Syria across Turkish soil into Kobane, a request Turkey has turned down. Kurdish fighters are unable to reinforce Kobane from other areas through Syria because they would have to cross ISIS-controlled territory.
Ankara has been reluctant to help the main Kurdish fighting force in Syria, the People's Protection Units (YPG), because of its close links to Kurdish militants inside Turkey known as the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). It classifies both groups as terrorist organisations.
Turkey wants the YPG and its political arm, the Democratic Union Party (PYD) to break ties with the PKK, which has been fighting the Turkish state for 30 years, and to rescind any ties it has with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and join the main Western- and Arab-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA), demands Cavusoglu reiterated on Monday.
On Sunday, the YPG released a statement saying it was coordinating and fighting alongside FSA units in Kobane and other areas and said it was committed to helping the whole of Syria and not just the Kurdish region.
Cavusoglu said there were now some seven different groups fighting alongside each other in Kobane against ISIS and that they had formed a joint headquarters. He acknowledged a U.S. air drop overnight of weapons and supplies to YPG fighters in Kobane and said Turkey was “evaluating” the move.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had previously said Ankara would not arm the YPG itself and would not support U.S. attempts to do so.
Monday's announcement to give passage to peshmerga fighters may also go some way to appeasing Turkey's own Kurds who have been outraged at their government's inaction over Kobane. Deadly protests over Kobane have erupted in Kurdish areas, threatening a fragile two-year peace process between Turkey and the PKK.
The announcement by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu appeared to mark a dramatic shift in position by Ankara, which had so far refused to come to the aid of Kobane's Kurdish defenders despite sustained pressure from Washington as well as Kurds in Syria and Turkey.
It also came only hours after the United States said it had air-dropped weapons and medical supplies overnight to Kurdish forces in Kobane for the first time, in a move seen as likely to anger Turkey who views the Kurdish forces across the border with disdain.
“The Iraqi Kurdish regional aministration [Kurdistan Regional Government] has said it was cooperating with Turkey and the United States in order to help Kobane. In fact, we too are helping Peshmerga forces cross into Kobane for support. Our talks on this subject are continuing,” Cavusoglu told a news conference in Ankara without giving further details.
The comments confirmed an earlier Rudaw report from Erbil on Monday that Turkey was giving passage to Peshmerga fighters into Kobane.
The move will be welcomed by Washington which has been trying to get Ankara to take a more robust role in the fight against ISIS. A U.S.-led coalition has been carrying out air strikes on ISIS targets in Iraq and Syria, including more than 135 around Kobane, however, Turkey has refused so far to take part or allow the use of its air bases for offensive operations.
Kurdish forces in Kobane have also been calling on Turkey to allow free passage of its own fighters from other Kurdish areas in Syria across Turkish soil into Kobane, a request Turkey has turned down. Kurdish fighters are unable to reinforce Kobane from other areas through Syria because they would have to cross ISIS-controlled territory.
Ankara has been reluctant to help the main Kurdish fighting force in Syria, the People's Protection Units (YPG), because of its close links to Kurdish militants inside Turkey known as the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). It classifies both groups as terrorist organisations.
Turkey wants the YPG and its political arm, the Democratic Union Party (PYD) to break ties with the PKK, which has been fighting the Turkish state for 30 years, and to rescind any ties it has with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and join the main Western- and Arab-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA), demands Cavusoglu reiterated on Monday.
On Sunday, the YPG released a statement saying it was coordinating and fighting alongside FSA units in Kobane and other areas and said it was committed to helping the whole of Syria and not just the Kurdish region.
Cavusoglu said there were now some seven different groups fighting alongside each other in Kobane against ISIS and that they had formed a joint headquarters. He acknowledged a U.S. air drop overnight of weapons and supplies to YPG fighters in Kobane and said Turkey was “evaluating” the move.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had previously said Ankara would not arm the YPG itself and would not support U.S. attempts to do so.
Monday's announcement to give passage to peshmerga fighters may also go some way to appeasing Turkey's own Kurds who have been outraged at their government's inaction over Kobane. Deadly protests over Kobane have erupted in Kurdish areas, threatening a fragile two-year peace process between Turkey and the PKK.