Turkey Considering Sending Troops Into Syria To Fight Syrian Kurds, ISIS: Report

Turkey will send troops to Syria to protect its border where Syrian Kurds have made significant gains in the past month, several Turkish media outlets reported Sunday. The Turkish government gave its military the directive to increase support to Syrian rebels on the border, something the army has agreed to do on the condition that diplomatic issues with allies were ironed out.

Turkish news outlet Cumhuriyet Daily reported on Sunday that the military had not been deployed but that it was
already in planning stages. The deployment of Turkish troops into Syria is likely to be a major game-changer in Syria. Turkey has the second biggest army in NATO and its proximity to Syria has made the country a key player in the American-led coalition to fight the Islamic State group.

Syrian Kurds have been fighting the group also known as ISIS on the Turkish border for the past year, and their recent advances have worried Turkey, which is opposed vehemently to a Kurdish state on its border.

“I am saying this to the whole world: We will never allow the establishment of a state on our southern border in the north of Syria,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech last Friday. “We will continue our fight in that respect whatever the cost may be.”

The Turkish government has not confirmed or denied the reports, but said the announcement would be made on Tuesday.

“We have a MGK [National Security Council] meeting tomorrow; we will make the necessary announcements afterwards,” Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said, according to the state-run news outlet Anadolu Agency.
http://www.ibtimes.com/turkey-considering-sending-troops-syria-fight-syrian-kurds-isis-report-1987157