Turkey to train Syrian fighters
October 11, 2014
As fighting continues to rage along its southern border, Turkey has agreed to train and equip moderate Syrian fighters who oppose the "Islamic State" (IS). But the military assistance could come too late for Kurdish fighters defending the embattled city of Kobani.
"Turkey has agreed to support train-and-equip efforts for the moderate Syrian opposition," US State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters on Friday.
American and Turkish officials met on Thursday to discuss Ankara's involvement in the fight against IS.
"There will be a (US Defense Department) planning team traveling to Ankara next week to continue planning that through the military channels," Harf said.
US pressures Turkey
The US is calling on Turkey to become more involved in the fight against the Islamic State, which has reportedly seized up to 40 percent of Kobani, located on the Turkish-Syrian border.
White House national security aide Lisa Monaco "underscored the importance of accelerating Turkish assistance" to defeat the Islamic State during her meeting on Friday with Turkey's intelligence chief, Hakan Fidan.
But Ankara has refused to be drawn into the conflict unless the US-led coalition develops a strategy aimed at overthrowing Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The Turkish government has proposed establishing a no-fly zone in northern Syria, where refugees could seek shelter and moderate Syrian rebels could be trained.
Washington has said that it's not actively considering the proposal, which would go far beyond the White House's more limited goal of rolling back the Islamic State's military gains.
A looming Srebrenica?
Meanwhile, UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura has warned that a massacre could ensue if Kobani falls to the Islamic State.
He said that 700 mostly elderly civilians were trapped inside the city, while some 12,000 people that fled Kobani have been unable to cross the border into Turkey.
"Do you remember Srebrenica? We do," de Mistura said, refering to the 1995 massacre of 8,000 Bosnian Muslims by Serb forces in the former Yugoslavia. "When there is an imminent threat to civilians, we cannot, we should not, be silent."
slk/tj (AP, AFP)