Turkey Rejects Arming Main Syrian Kurdish Party
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 19 October 2014 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Turkey Rejects Arming Main Syrian Kurdish Party, 19 October 2014, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/5446786f4.html [accessed 3 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rejected calls for Turkey to arm the main Kurdish party in Syria, describing the group as a terrorist organization.
Erdogan said October 19 that the Democratic Union Party (PYD) was the same as the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a 30-year insurgency for self-rule in southeastern Turkey.
The armed wing of the PYD, the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), has been engaged in heavy fighting in recent weeks with the Islamic State group for control of the northern Syrian town of Kobani.
Erdogan was speaking aboard a plane as he returned from a one-day visit to Kabul.
French President Francois Hollande last week called on Turkey to open open its border to allow reinforcements to reach Kobani.
