SHAFAQNA (Shia International News Association)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday called on the Western powers to launch a ground operation against the Islamic State (IS) in Syria, saying Kurdish people in the northern Syrian city of Kobane is “about to fall” in the hands of jihadist militants.
Addressing Syrian refugees in the southern Gaziantep province, Erdogan said “the terror cannot be ended only by airstrikes,” calling on the West to cooperate in a ground operation.
The president also made three requests to the Western powers — “creating a no-fly zone, declaring a safe zone parallel the region, as well as training and equipping the moderate opposition in Syria andIraq.”
IS militants have advanced into Kobane near Turkish border for three weeks and seized many villages surrounding the town. Some 180,000 Syrian Kurds have fled IS violence and taken refugee in Turkey.
Last week the Turkish parliament passed a motion to authorize cross-border military actions in neighboring Syria and Iraq to fight terrorist groups. The decision will grant the government a one-year mandate to send Turkish Armed Forces, “if necessary,” “to foreign countries for cross-border operations and interventions and to position foreign militaries in Turkey for the same purposes. “
High-ranking U.S. officials will hold talks in Turkey on Thursday over a possible military contribution of Ankara to the U. S.-led military coalition against the IS.
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