Peshmerga Deployment In Kobani Via Turkey Draws Criticism From Syria

Syria has lashed out at Turkey over allowing foreign fighters into the country as a group of Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga troops entered Kobani on Thursday, following the passage of Free Syrian Army (FSA) members into the town to fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

The Syrian Foreign Ministry said letting foreign fighters cross into the country was a "blatant violation" of its sovereignty, and described the move as a "disgraceful act," according to a Reuters report.

In an interview with The Associated Press in Damascus, Bouthaina Shaaban said the move was intended for Turkey to expand its influence in Syria by sending in anti-Bashar al-Assad fighters.

"I see that Turkey is continuing in its role of aggression against Syria and its very dangerous role in the region," Shaaban said.

The FSA is a very loose coalition of rebel groups fighting to topple Assad. The group's political leadership is based in Turkey, where fighters often seek respite from the fighting. There are various factions within the group whose ideologies are constantly shifting, but generally range from mainstream moderates to deeply conservative Muslims.

Shaaban suggested Turkey was trying to revive the influence that it once enjoyed as the dominant power of the 600-year-old Ottoman Empire that collapsed early last century.

"Its very dangerous role in the region is motivated by their Ottoman ambition. [It] does not really target saving the Kurds," she said.

Kurdish residents in the southeastern province of Mardin flocked to highways to greet the peshmerga convoy headed to Kobani on Wednesday. The passage of the convoy coincided with Republic Day in Turkey and prompted severe criticism on social media.

The peshmerga deployment to Kobani was reportedly scheduled to take place earlier, a delay that Turkey blamed on the Syrian Kurdish group that is defending Kobani, the Democratic Union Party (PYD). "There is a problem of trust between the PYD and the peshmerga," Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said in televised remarks on Tuesday. "Therefore, the delay in the process [of the peshmerga passage to Kobani] stems from such reasons," he said.

Çavuşoğlu last week announced that Turkey will be assisting the peshmerga to cross into Kobani from Turkish territory. The Financial Times newspaper reported the story as “Turkey's U-turn.” But Erdoğan told the press that it was his idea to assist the peshmerga to cross into Kobani to fight against ISIL, refuting claims that the reason for the policy change is US President Barack Obama's phone call to Erdoğan on Oct. 18.

Kobani has been under assault from ISIL militants for more than a month and its fate has become a test of the US-led coalition's ability to combat the insurgents.

Despite dozens of US-led coalition air strikes, the Kurdish fighters in Syria have been struggling to defend Kobani against the ISIL militants since mid-September.

The ISIL offensive on Kobani and nearby Syrian villages has killed more than 800 people, activists say. The Sunni extremists captured dozens of Kurdish villages and control parts of Kobani. More than 200,000 people have fled into Turkey.

The coalition has carried out more than 150 air strikes against the militants in and around Kobani, helping stall their advance. US officials said the air strikes have killed hundreds of ISIL fighters.

The US Central Command said the American air force conducted 12 air strikes in Syria, of which 10 were in the Kobani area since Wednesday. The air strikes near Kobani struck two small ISIL units and destroyed seven militants' fighting positions and five buildings occupied by the extremists, it said in a statement.

Under pressure to take greater action against the ISIL militants -- from the West as well as from Kurds in Turkey and Syria -- the Turkish government has allowed the peshmerga forces from Iraq, with whom it has a good relationship, and not those from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to cross to Kobani.

Ankara views the Syrian Kurds defending Kobani as loyal to what it regards as an extension of the PKK.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has criticized claims that Turkey is not providing enough support to fighters defending the Syrian town of Kobani against ISIL.

In an interview with the BBC broadcast on Tuesday, Davutoğlu said Turkey has welcomed all refugees from Kobani and added that Turkey would only join the campaign against ISIL if military action against the Syrian government forces is included in the US-led coalition's strategy. Turkey cannot be expected to send troops to defend Kobani, and only Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters and Syria's own moderate opposition can save it, Davutoğlu said.

US warplanes have been bombing ISIL positions near Kobani for weeks, but air strikes alone will not be enough to repel the insurgents, Davutoğlu said. "Saving Kobani, retaking Kobani and some area[s] around Kobani from ISIL, means there's a need for a military operation," he said.

But he made it clear that neither Turkey nor the Western allies would commit troops. "If they [the international coalition] don't want to send their ground troops, how can they expect Turkey to send Turkish ground troops with the same risks on our border?" Davutoğlu said.

Turkey is pushing for the establishment of a no-fly zone and safe zone inside Syria. US State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki reiterated on Tuesday the US stance on the topic and said: “Well, obviously we continue, as we have been for several weeks now, to discuss with Turkish authorities what their proposals are, what they'd like to see happen. We have the same concerns that we've had in the past, so our position hasn't changed.”

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)