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Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu promised that his government will do whatever it can to stop Islamic State (IS) militants from capturing the Syrian Kurdish town Kobane, saying that the Turkish Parliament has approved military action in Syria.
The IS has been advancing towards the town of Ain al-Arab, known among the Kurds as Kobane, which lies close to the Turkish border. Tens of thousands of Syrians from in and around Kobane are currently living as refugees in Turkey.
“We do not want Kobane to fall. We opened our arms to our brothers from Kobane. We will do whatever we can so that Kobane does not fall”, Davutoglu said in a TV interview on Thursday. However, he did not give any details on what kind of military action might be taken.
Turkish officials have urged caution and said warned against rapid military action following the parliament’s approval. It is still unclear if Turkish soldiers will be used on the ground against the IS. Davutoglu also said that no decision has been taken on the kind of military action to be taken in the security meeting before the parliamentary vote. However, he added that Turkey cannot “take a passive approach” and “let the events follow their natural course” which would let the IS advance further and cause an even larger influx of refugees.
“There is a snake and we cannot say the ‘snake that doesn’t touch me can live a thousand years’”, Davutoglu said, using the Turkish medium which means “out of sight, out of mind”.
“No other country can affect the developments in Syria and Iraq (like Turkey). No other country will be affected like us either”, he said.
Turkey remains reluctant to commit to action in the US-led campaign against the IS in part because it fears such actions will strengthen Syrian Kurds connected to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been outlawed in Turkey because of their 30-year rebellion for self-rule.