Turkey: Erdogan says Washington sends weapons to Syrian Kurd fighters
| Publisher | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |
| Publication Date | 23 September 2016 |
| Cite as | Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Turkey: Erdogan says Washington sends weapons to Syrian Kurd fighters, 23 September 2016, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/58189df110.html [accessed 21 May 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. |
September 23, 2016
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the UN General Assembly in New York earlier this week.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is accusing the United States of sending more weapons to a Syrian Kurdish militia in defiance of Ankara's repeated insistence that it is a "terrorist" organization.
Erdogan said late on September 22 that three days earlier the US sent "two planes with weapons" to Kobani in northern Syria for the People's Protection Units (YPG) militia and its Democratic Union Party (PYD) political wing.
Speaking in New York after attending the UN General Assembly, Erdogan added that Washington was mistaken in using the YPG as an ally in the fight against the Islamic State extremist group (IS).
The United States views the YPG militia as its most significant ground ally against armed Islamic extremist fighters in Syria.
However, Ankara says the fighters are "terrorists" linked to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which for decades has waged an insurgency in southeastern Turkey.
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.
Turkey has over the last month sent dozens of tanks and hundreds of troops into Syria to back pro-Ankara Syrian rebels fighting IS and the YPG.
Based on reporting by AFP
Link to original story on RFE/RL website
