Turkey says 1,300 Syria rebels heading to Kobani

The proximity of the Islamic State group to the Kurdish forces defending the Syrian border town of Kobani is seen with the yellow triangular flag of the Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG, flying on a building, bottom right, just inside Kobani in Syria, near the Turkey-Syria border Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014. In the background, the black flag of the Islamic State group flies atop a building, top left, Kobani, also known as Ayn Arab, and its surrounding areas, has been under assault by extremists of the Islamic State group since mid-September and is being defended by Kurdish fighters. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis) The proximity of the Islamic State group to the Kurdish forces defending the Syrian border town of Kobani is seen with the yellow triangular flag of the Kurdish People's Protection Units, or YPG, flying on a building, bottom right, just inside Kobani in Syria, near the Turkey-Syria border Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014. In the background, the black flag of the Islamic State group flies atop a building, top left, Kobani, also known as Ayn Arab, and its surrounding areas, has been under assault by extremists of the Islamic State group since mid-September and is being defended by Kurdish fighters. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

By Associated Press October 24, 2014 3 min read

TALLINN, Estonia (AP) – Turkey’s president said Friday that Ankara would allow hundreds of Syrian rebels to travel to the embattled border town of Kobani in order to help Kurdish fighters there fend off an Islamic State onslaught.

But Syrian opposition activists denied there were any such plans, and Kurdish fighters reacted angrily to the announcement, viewing it as a slight to their dogged defense of the town over the past month.

The announcement by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested more assistance for Syrian Kurdish fighters who have been battling the extremists since mid-September, when the IS group launched a sweeping offensive to try to take Kobani. A U.S.-led coalition is also shelling militant positions around the town.

During a state visit in Estonia, Erdogan said the Western-backed Free Syrian Army would send 1,300 fighters to the Syrian town. He told reporters that the rebels were negotiating their route with Kurdish forces in the town.

“The PYD accepted (the) FSA to send 1,300 fighters. Now they are negotiating the route,” he told reporters, referring to the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party, the PYD, which governs Kobani and has been leading its defense.