Kurds deny Erdogan report of deal with Syrian rebels to aid besieged Kobani
- 10 years ago
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has resisted calls to move to a war footing against Islamic State.
But on Friday he signaled that Syrian Kurds had agreed to let 1,300 Free Syrian Army fighters enter the border town of Kobani to help defend it against Islamic State insurgents.
(SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) TURKISH PRESIDENT, TAYYIP ERDOGAN, SAYING:
"The Democratic Union Party said that it accepted the passage of 1,300 people from the Free Syrian Army and right now our relevant teams are negotiating what their route of passage should be."
But a senior Syrian Kurdish official Friday denied those reports, saying it would be better for Free Syrian Army forces to open a second front in Syria against Islamic State.
Although Turkish and U.S. officials acknowledge Kobani itself is not especially strategically important, the fate of the town has become a credibility test of the international coalition's response to Islamic State.
But on Friday he signaled that Syrian Kurds had agreed to let 1,300 Free Syrian Army fighters enter the border town of Kobani to help defend it against Islamic State insurgents.
(SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) TURKISH PRESIDENT, TAYYIP ERDOGAN, SAYING:
"The Democratic Union Party said that it accepted the passage of 1,300 people from the Free Syrian Army and right now our relevant teams are negotiating what their route of passage should be."
But a senior Syrian Kurdish official Friday denied those reports, saying it would be better for Free Syrian Army forces to open a second front in Syria against Islamic State.
Although Turkish and U.S. officials acknowledge Kobani itself is not especially strategically important, the fate of the town has become a credibility test of the international coalition's response to Islamic State.