Turkey Changes Position, Allows Aid for Kurds Fighting ISIS
By: Alex LaRosa,
Staff Writer
Along the border of Syria and Turkey, a battle has been unfolding in the city of Kobani, the fourth-largest Kurdish city in Syria. On one side, heavily-armed ISIS militants have been advancing on the city, threatening to overrun it and claim yet another victory in their rampage through Iraq. On the other side stand Kurdish fighters, many of whom comprise a group known as the PYD, or Democratic Union Party of Syria. Previously, the PYD was on their own to defend this important town. Lately, the tides have turned and now the United States and Turkey have banded together to help the PYD beat back ISIS, albeit with trepidation.
Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, announced Tuesday that Turkey would be taking steps to help the PYD. This came as a sudden shift in policy, as previously, Turkey was systematically opposed to all help. Under the official Turkish argument, the PYD had strong links to another group of Kurds in Turkey that have been fighting the government for 40 long years. Thus, they did not want to end up helping their enemy by giving them arms and supplies.
The United States, however, was less strict, and began to airdrop weapons and medicine into Kobani. The payload of 24 tons was delivered Monday, and the US military alerted Turkey that they had done so. Thus, with the United States helping the PYD, Turkey had been mildly coerced into allowing aid for their enemy. The United States’ primary concern is ISIS, and is thus willing to help anybody who is fighting that group.
According to sources on the ground at Kobani, the airdrops have already made an impact. “[I]f the aid is continued, it will help a lot,” said a spokesperson for another militia in Kobani (The Guardian). “The support is helping us morally and lifting our spirits.”
Another fighter in the area said that now that the US has begun supplying weapons, “we are no longer playing defensive in this war. I believe the next couple of days will bring us victory” (The Guardian). John Kerry, the United States Secretary of State, praised both the airdrops and the Kurds who received the goods. Furthermore, the US began to launch strikes on ISIS positions, in hopes that it will turn the tide even further in favor of the PYD.
In one more significant development, Turkey also announced that they would allow Kurdish fighters from northern Iraq to cross through their territory and arrive at Kobani to finish the fight. These forces, known as peshmerga, were previously not allowed through Turkish territory, as they feared that like the PYD fighters, the peshmerga would not be friendly to Turkey. Faced with the US military strikes and the changing scenario at Kobani, however, the Turkish government caved to the US demand and announced Tuesday that the peshmerga would be able to cross into Syria via Turkey. As the foreign minister put it, “we are helping peshmerga forces to enter into Kobani to give their support” (NBCNews).
All this would seem to spell bad news for ISIS, but of course, the month-long battle is far from over. ISIS has already lost approximately 400 soldiers in the fight, and several of their heaviest weapons (The Guardian). Turkey has spent $300 million in aid for various fighters in northern Syria (Today's Zaman). Finally, the United States has dropped many bombs and spent millions of their own supporting those who are fighting ISIS. All in all, it appears that this is an important battle for the future of Syria, if not the entire Middle East, and by allowing aid into Kobani, Turkey may just have tilted the balance in favor of the PYD and all those who oppose ISIS.
Works Cited
Chulov, Martin, Constanze Letsch and Fazel Hawramy. Turkey to allow Kurdish peshmerga across its territory to fight in Kobani. 20 October 2014. 21 October 2014 <http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/oct/20/turkey-allows-peshmerga-forces-to-travel-to-kobani>.
NBCNews. Battle for Kobani: Turkey Clears Way for Kurdish 'Peshmerga' Fighters. 20 October 2014. 21 October 2014 <http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/isis-terror/battle-kobani-turkey-clears-way-kurdish-peshmerga-fighters-n229566>.
Today's Zaman. Turkey says peshmerga yet to cross into Kobani, talks still under way. 21 October 2014. 21 October 2014 <http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_turkey-says-peshmerga-yet-to-cross-into-kobani-talks-still-under-way_362283.html>.