The US, which sees the YPG as a major strategic partner, air-dropped weapons for the group, half of which was seized by IS militants, Erdogan claimed.
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The US has allied with the separatist group against Daesh, while Turkey makes no distinction between Daesh and the Syrian Kurdish YPG and its political wing the PYD.
Thanks to Turkey’s Operation Euphrates Shield, the population of Jarabulus had now swelled from 3,500 to 25,000, according to a local official in the Syrian town.
General Joseph Dunford told Senate: “We are in deliberation about exactly to do with the Syrian Democratic Forces right now”. Arming the Kurds directly is seen by United States commanders as a way of preparing the assault of Raqqa, but can also aggravate President Obama’s already tense relations with Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“But there are no plans to involve the infantry of Turkish armed forces in these operations”, added Isik. Turkey is said to be among the main supporters of the militant groups active in Syria, with reports saying that Ankara actively trains and arms the Takfiri elements there and facilitates their safe passage into the conflict-ridden country.
Erdogan’s speech at the United Nations summit in NY yesterday will intensify the ongoing row between the two countries who are deeply divided over Kurdish separatists in the region. The safe zone would push the Kurds south and east, keeping them far from Turkey’s border.
The ordnance was sacked from territory controlled by the terror group, Dogan news agency said.
The city of Raqqa in Syria is the de facto capital of the so-called Islamic State (IS or ISIS or ISIL or Daesh).
Erdogan added that he had raised the issue of the alleged weapons delivery in talks with U.S. Vice President Joe Biden but said Biden insisted he had no information.
The rocket was the first such attack on Kilis since Ankara-backed rebels cleared Islamic State from Turkey’s southern border this month.
The top USA general on Thursday said the military was considering arming the Syrian Kurdish fighters, and acknowledged the difficulty of balancing such a move with the relationship with Ankara.
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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the accusations during a speech in New York City to representatives of the Turkish community in the United States.
