Turkey has announced that it will facilitate Iraqi Kurdish fighters cross the border into Syria, to battle against Islamic State (IS) militants in Kobane.
Turkish foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, said in a press conference that his government was “helping the Peshmerga cross over to Kobane,” adding that “consultations are going on.”
"Turkey has no wish to see Kobane fall," said Cavusoglu.
See an excerpt of the press conference below.
The announcement comes after Turkey bombed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) targets last week, a group linked closely to the Kurdish fighters defending Kobane from IS.
US Secretary of State John Kerry had earlier said it would be "morally difficult" not to support the "valiant Kurds". Earlier on Monday, the United States air-dropped arms to Kurdish forces in the town.
However, Kerry went on to add,
“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 the PKK.”
“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.”
We need your support
Sri Lanka is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a journalist. Tamil journalists are particularly at threat, with at least 41 media workers known to have been killed by the Sri Lankan state or its paramilitaries during and after the armed conflict.
Despite the risks, our team on the ground remain committed to providing detailed and accurate reporting of developments in the Tamil homeland, across the island and around the world, as well as providing expert analysis and insight from the Tamil point of view
We need your support in keeping our journalism going. Support our work today.
For more ways to donate visit https://donate.tamilguardian.com.
