Erdogan Takes Aim at West over Kobane
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday took aim at Western leaders for focusing too much on the battle over the strategic Syrian border town of Kobane.
Speaking to reporters after a meeting with French President Francois Hollande, Erdogan said: "Why are coalition forces continually bombing this town of Kobane?"
"We talk about nothing other than Kobane which is on the Turkish border and where there is no one left any more except 2,000 people fighting," added the Turkish leader.
The battle over the border town between Islamic State militants and Kurdish militia has become a symbol of the wider fight against Islamic extremists.
Turkey has allowed heavily armed Iraqi peshmerga forces and opposition rebels to cross its border to battle the IS fighters, sparking condemnation from Syria, which called it a "flagrant violation of Syrian sovereignty."
A US-led coalition carrying out air raids against IS has recently intensified attacks near Kobane, and the Pentagon said its warplanes made 10 strikes in the area on Wednesday and Thursday.
Hollande agreed that Kobane was not the be-all and end-all of the mission, telling reporters that the "key town" in the struggle is Aleppo, Syria's second city.
Nevertheless, "even if Kobane has been emptied of its population, it is necessary to provide it with the reinforcements necessary and in this regard, we have faith in Turkey," said Hollande.
Source: Agence France Presse
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