PM declares Syria intervention a ‘natural right’

ISTANBUL - Doğan News Agency

AA Photo

Turkey has a natural right to intervene in Syria if “terrorist formations” pose a threat in the area, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said yesterday after groups affiliated with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) gained control of Syrian towns along Turkey’s border.

"If there are formations that are being set up right now that [results in] a certain terrorist act, then it is out most natural right to intervene, since [such terrorism] would be a step toward disturbing our national peace. We can not allow that,” he said in a television interview yesterday.

Erdoğan, however, dismissed suggestions that Turkey wanted to bring Kurds in the area under their tutelage.

The prime minister also criticized media reports that said Syrian President Bashar al-Assad had abandoned border areas to the Kurds, arguing instead that the real situation was "very interesting."

"These are sensitive regions," Erdoğan said. "We will not tolerate PKK cooperation with any other organizations in the area."

We will fight PKK if Turkey provides arms: Syrian rebel

ANTAKYA - Agence France-Presse

Holed up in a Turkish safe-house, a Kurdish commander of a Syrian rebel unit makes a novel pitch for more weapons to help his men fight the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

"I wish we could get some armed support from Turkey," said Ubed Muse, speaking to AFP during a break from the bloody battles in which he has led a band of 45 rebels near Aleppo, Syria's second city.

If his fighters could get help from Turkey, he said, they would return the favour by hitting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party or PKK.

"If we -- Kurds and Arabs -- join ranks, and are able to get military support from Turkey, we can fight not only the regime but also the PKK," said Muse. "With armed support from Turkey, we can hit PKK bases inside Syria because we all know about their whereabouts and which regions they control."