Turkish President Tayyip Recep Erdogan today accused the main Kurdish party in Syria of not wanting help from the fighters of Iraqi Kurdistan to defend the Kurdish city of Kobani in Syria near the border with Turkey.
The Democratic Union of Syrian Kurds party, whose armed wing is fighting Islamic State extremists in Kobani, "doesn't want Iraqi Kurds to come to the city and dominate there," Erdogan said.
The Turkish president said that the armed wing of the Syrian Kurds, which he considers a terrorist organization, does not want to lose its influence in northern Syria. Last Sunday, the Turkish authorities allowed the Iraqis
Kurds to cross its territory to reach Kobani, but so far this has not happened.
Ankara accuses the armed wing of the Syrian Kurds of being too close to the regime of Bashar al-Assad and of being at the same time the armed wing of the Syrian branch of the Turkish Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been fighting for the independence of Kurdistan in Turkey for more than 30 years.
More than 800 people have been killed in Kobani so far
More than 800 people have been killed in Kobani since the start of the offensive by Islamic State extremists 40 days ago.
"Since September 16, 481 fighters from the Islamic State have been killed," said the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which collects information from independent sources.
In that conflict, 300 Kurdish fighters defending Kobani died, as well as 10 Kurdish volunteers.
The Observatory added that 20 Kurdish civilians were also killed and that most of Kobani's population fled to neighboring Turkey.
Islamic State launched an offensive on Kobani in mid-September in hopes of taking control of Syria's third Kurdish city.
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