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In shift, Turkey allows passage of Kurdish army to Kobane

It is regarded as a major shift in Turkish policy.

By Ed Adamczyk
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. UPI/Pat Benic
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. UPI/Pat Benic | License Photo

ANKARA, Turkey, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- In a policy change, Turkey will allow Kurdish military forces to travel through Turkish land to defend Kobane, Syria.

The government announced it would permit armed Kurdish fighters, or peshmerga, to travel from northern Iraq through Turkey to Kobane, the border city whose five-week-long defense against Islamic State forces has become symbolic of the fight against the Islamist militant group. Earlier this month Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan referred to both the Kurdish military and IS as "terrorists," reinforcing his country's stormy relationship with its ethnic Kurdish population. The move came after days of violent protest in Turkish cities, opposing the government's lack of involvement in helping besieged Kurds in Syria and Iraq. While Kurds and the IS are battling for control of Kobane, a small city on the Syria-Turkey border, over 100,000 Syrian Kurdish civilians have sought refuge in Turkey.

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Turkey has opposed involvement in aiding the Kurdish troops in Kobane because of what it perceives are links between the peshmerga and the PKK, the Kurdish political party within Turkey which has been involved in a long insurgency against the government.

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The announcement was made after U.S. aircraft made their first supply drop of weapons and medicine into Kobane, and followed days of airstrikes against IS forces in and near the city. The airdrops and airstrikes have played a pivotal role in turning the tide of battle against the IS.

"It is being much more difficult for them (IS). If what has been delivered can make a measurable difference, then they can't win. They will need to recalibrate their commitment," a western diplomat in the region said.

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