Turkish president criticises US for Kobane airdrops
Flames rise following an explosion in the Syrian town of Kobane, also known as Ain al-Arab, as seen from the southeastern Turkish village of Mursitpinar in the Sanliurfa province on October 20, 2014. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on October 22, 2014 criticised as “wrong” the airdrops of ammunition and weapons by US planes to Kurdish fighters battling jihadists in Kobane. FILE PHOTO | AFP
What you need to know:
- US cargo planes earlier this week dropped ammunition, weapons and medical supplies to the Kurdish fighters who have been battling the jihadists for control of Kobane for over a month.
- Ankara sees the PYD as the Syrian arm of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) whose battle for self-rule in Turkey’s southeast has left 40,000 people dead over three decades.
ANKARA
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday criticised as “wrong” the airdrops of ammunition and weapons by US planes to Kurdish fighters battling jihadists in the Syrian town of Kobane.
He said the weapons had fallen into the hands of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) — a Syrian Kurdish group that Ankara does not support — and also Islamic State (IS) jihadists.
“It has become clear that this was wrong,” President Erdogan told reporters in Ankara airport before departing for a trip to Latvia and Estonia.
US cargo planes earlier this week dropped ammunition, weapons and medical supplies to the Kurdish fighters who have been battling the jihadists for control of Kobane for over a month.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said at least one of the loads dropped had been picked up by the jihadists.
A video purportedly showing this has surfaced online. But Erdogan indicated that Turkey was equally troubled by the weapons falling into the hands of the PYD, whose armed branch the People’s Protection Units (YPG) has led the fight against the jihadists.
Ankara sees the PYD as the Syrian arm of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) whose battle for self-rule in Turkey’s southeast has left 40,000 people dead over three decades.
“Some of the airdrops have fallen into the hands of the PYD and ISIS,” he said, using a different name for IS. “It’s impossible to achieve results with such an operation,” he added.
“Any support you would give PYD would benefit the PKK. And as Turkey we need to fight against this,” Erdogan added.
Turkey’s animosity towards the PYD puts it at odds with the United States, which favours supporting the group to fight the jihadists and says it should not be equated with the PKK.
