ISTANBUL // The political head of the Kurdish group fighting ISIL in Kobani has accused Turkey of failing to fulfil a pledge to deliver aid to the embattled Syrian town.
Salih Muslim, leader of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), said that Ankara could save the town from the ISIL onslaught if it allowed military and humanitarian assistance to reach it from other Kurdish areas.
"All we're asking is for them to open the way to allow us to help our own people. That would be enough and more than enough to save Kobani," he told The National on Thursday.
Ankara has only delivered a single lorry of medical aid to the besieged town despite Turkish officials having assured him of more assistance in talks earlier this month, Mr Muslim said.
“They promised us all kinds of help. This is not what we were expecting.”
Officials in Ankara did not respond to requests for comment, however local officials at the border confirmed to the AFP news agency on Thursday that they had begun detaining and fingerprinting anyone crossing, on suspicion they were fighters.
Turkey has accepted an influx of 200,000 refugees from Kobani, but has so far refused to allow the Kurds to reinforce the town or provide broader military support against ISIL.
Ankara’s decision rests on fears of becoming further embroiled in Syria’s civil war, its hostility to the PYD, which has close links with Turkish Kurdish rebels, and a desire to push its Western allies into toppling the regime of Bashar Al Assad.
“The Assad regime is the cause of instability in the region and has created the environment for radical terrorist groups,” Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday.
Turkey would play its part in the coalition against ISIL, he said, but only if its allies signed up to a broader strategy to address the chaos in Syria.
“It’s not realistic to expect that Turkey will lead a ground operation on its own.”
In the past two days, however, the price of Ankara’s inaction in Kobani has risen steeply.
Turkey is witnessing its deadliest riots in more than a decade, as Kurds have risen up in fury at what they see as their government’s complicity in the town’s fate.
Twenty-three people died in protests across the Kurdish-populated south-east this week and the unrest still simmered on Thursday.
Most of the deaths occurred when protesters clashed with Islamist groups and Turkish nationalists.
The government issued curfew orders, and troops and armoured personnel carriers rolled onto the streets of Kurdish-majority cities in scenes reminiscent of the 1990s, when the separatist PKK fought an insurgency against the Turkish state.
The violence, and the likely fall of Kobani to ISIL, could also derail an 18-month-old peace process between Ankara and the PKK.
By saving Kobani, however, Ankara risks empowering an organisation closely linked to the PKK, and also provoking retaliation from ISIL, which already controls about 200-kilometres of Turkey’s 900-kilometre border with Syria and is believed to have a substantial network within the county.
“[The government is] basically frozen in fear, because any solution they can come up with creates a whole array of other problems for them,” said Steven Cook, a Washington-based Turkey expert at the Council on Foreign Relations.
“The more they dither, the more they are going to find themselves confronting bigger security challenges.”
Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) may view the prospect of a de-facto Kurdish mini-state on its Syrian border as more threatening to its long-term security than ISIL.
Some of the party’s support base may even sympathise with the movement. In a survey by Turkish polling firm Metropoll conducted in mid-September, 25 per cent of AKP respondents said that Turkey should not cooperate with regional and world powers against ISIL.
“The threat perception of the AKP leadership is not the same as many Turks,” said Suat Kiniklioglu, executive director of STRATIM, an Ankara-based foreign policy think tank.
In a tweet since deleted, AKP MP Emrullah Isler wrote on Wednesday that killings by Kurdish pro-PKK protesters were worse than those by ISIL, since the group ‘kills but doesn’t torture,’ an assertion contradicted by numerous testimonies from former ISIL prisoners.
“Turkey does not want a repeat scenario as it happened in Iraq,” Mr Kiniklioglu added, referring to the broad autonomy won by that country’s Kurdish region after the 1991 Gulf War.
“It is trying to squeeze the Kurdish leadership in Syria to agree to fight Assad and not form an autonomous entity there,” he added.
Equally, Ankara has understandable concerns about taking any action as part of a coalition it fears has only limited commitment to Syria’s future.
“There’s a view in Ankara that the allies are not there for the long run, but that Turkey will always have Syria on its border,” says Wolfgango Piccoli, a London-based Turkey expert at global risk advisory firm Teneo.
“They’ve seen this movie before — most notably in Iraq.”
On Thursday however, despite intensified allied airstrikes on ISIL positions around Kobani, the ISIL militants had wrested control of a third of the town, according to monitoring group the Syrian Observatory on Human Rights.
With its fall now seeming likely, Ankara may have limited time to wring concessions from its allies.
Many observers fear that even if it now changes course and assists the town, it may be too late to regain the trust of its 15 million strong Kurdish minority, many of whom view the town as an extension of their own homeland.
“Now it’s too late,” said Mr Piccoli. “Even if there’s a shift in policy it will be difficult to regain the trust of the Kurds and make sure that the peace process continues.”
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
Results
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Rawat Al Reef, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Noof KB, Richard Mullen, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: AF Seven Skies, Bernardo Pinheiro, Qaiss Aboud
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7pm: UAE Arabian Derby – Prestige (PA) Dh150,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Dergham Athbah, Richard Mullen, Mohamed Daggash
7.30pm: Emirates Championship – Group 1 (PA) Dh1,000,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: Somoud, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle
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Most wanted allegations
- Benjamin Macann, 32: involvement in cocaine smuggling gang.
- Jack Mayle, 30: sold drugs from a phone line called the Flavour Quest.
- Callum Halpin, 27: over the 2018 murder of a rival drug dealer.
- Asim Naveed, 29: accused of being the leader of a gang that imported cocaine.
- Calvin Parris, 32: accused of buying cocaine from Naveed and selling it on.
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England's lowest Test innings
- 45 v Australia in Sydney, January 28, 1887
- 46 v West Indies in Port of Spain, March 25, 1994
- 51 v West Indies in Kingston, February 4, 2009
- 52 v Australia at The Oval, August 14, 1948
- 53 v Australia at Lord's, July 16, 1888
- 58 v New Zealand in Auckland, March 22, 2018
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Uefa Champions League last 16 draw
Juventus v Tottenham Hotspur
Basel v Manchester City
Sevilla v Manchester United
Porto v Liverpool
Real Madrid v Paris Saint-Germain
Shakhtar Donetsk v Roma
Chelsea v Barcelona
Bayern Munich v Besiktas
Tips from the expert
Dobromir Radichkov, chief data officer at dubizzle and Bayut, offers a few tips for UAE residents looking to earn some cash from pre-loved items.
- Sellers should focus on providing high-quality used goods at attractive prices to buyers.
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
World Cup final
Who: France v Croatia
When: Sunday, July 15, 7pm (UAE)
TV: Game will be shown live on BeIN Sports for viewers in the Mena region
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
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Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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Political flags or banners
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Bikes, skateboards or scooters
The specs
Engine: 4 liquid-cooled permanent magnet synchronous electric motors placed at each wheel
Battery: Rimac 120kWh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) chemistry
Power: 1877bhp
Torque: 2300Nm
Price: Dh7,500,00
On sale: Now
