ERBIL
Turkish approval and U.S. support enabled Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighers to go to Kobani, the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government leader said on Thursday.
Massoud Barzani said that the access of peshmerga forces into Kobani would have been impossible without Turkey's assent, in a written statement.
Barzani spoke after peshmerga soldiers departed early Wednesday to fight alongside Kurdish fighters in Kobani on Turkey-Syria border, against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
"Intense bilateral and trilateral talks were held among the U.S., Turkey and the Kurdish region to arrange the access for the peshmerga. After the talks, Turkey officially informed us that it would provide all kinds of support," he said.
The first batch of Kobani-bound peshmerga troops landed on a private plane at Turkey's GAP Airport from Erbil International Airport early Wednesday, and then were stationed in the Suruc district of Turkey's border province Sanliurfa.
A separate truck convoy carrying their heavy weaponry also entered Turkey on Wednesday via the Habur border crossing in the southeastern province of Sirnak.
Barzani noted that the Iraqi Kurdish parliament unanimously voted last week to send peshmerga forces through Turkey after foreign support was secured.
He said they only sent a "back-up force and weaponry" to Kobani, adding that "we will not hesitate to send more peshmerga if the conditions at the battlefront change or there is a request for further troops and we have the consent again."
The battle for control of the strategic town between ISIL militants and armed Kurdish groups has been raging since mid-September when ISIL entered Kobani. An estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees, including some 190,000 from Kobani, are being sheltered in camps across Turkey after fleeing the fighting.
Turkey has been pushing the international community, including the U.N., to establish a no-fly zone and a safe haven for refugees inside Syria near the Turkish border.
10 peshmerga troops arrive at Kobani on Thursday
Ten peshmerga fighters entered Kobani from the Suruc district of Turkey’s southeastern Sanliurfa province, the remaining 150 will enter after their duty's location is determined, says peshmerga ministry spokesman
Ten Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters entered the Syrian town of Kobani on Thursday, a Kurdish Regional Government official told Anadolu Agency (AA).
Kurdish Regional Government Peshmerga Ministry spokesman Osman Riseyi said that the 10 fighters of the peshmerga forces had entered Kobani from the Suruc district of Turkey’s southeastern Sanliurfa province around 1:00 p.m. Turkish time (1100GMT).
“The remaining 150 fighters will enter Syria after the exact location where they will be stationed is determined,” Riseyi said. The peshmerga forces will support Kurdish groups fighting against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
He also stated that peshmerga forces would head to the battle front without delay.
The deployed peshmerga forces landed on a private plane at Turkey's GAP Airport from Erbil International Airport late Tuesday night. They were stationed in Suruc town near the Syrian border, a provincial governor told reporters on Wednesday.
A separate truck convoy carrying their heavy weaponry also entered Turkey Wednesday via Habur border pass in the southeastern province of Sirnak.
The battle for control of the strategic Syrian town of Kobani between ISIL militants and armed Kurdish groups has been raging since mid-September when ISIL entered the town. An estimated 1.5 million Syrian refugees, including some 190,000 from Kobani, are being sheltered in camps across Turkey after fleeing the fighting.
Turkey has strongly supported a proposal, before the international community, including the U.N., to establish a no-fly zone and a safe haven for refugees inside Syria near the Turkish border.
www.aa.com.tr/en
