Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned today that the Syrian border town of Kobane is on the verge of falling to jihadists, saying a ground operation was needed to defeat the militants.
"The terror will not be over... Unless we cooperate for a ground operation," Erdogan said in a televised speech in the eastern city of Gaziantep.
He added that air strikes being carried out by a US-led coalition to help Kurdish fighters battling Islamic State (IS) jihadists for Kobane were not enough on their own.
"Months have passed but no results have been achieved. Kobane is about to fall," he told an audience mainly composed of Syrian refugees in the city's Islahiye camp.
"I am telling the West -- dropping bombs from the air will not provide a solution," Erdogan said to cheers from the crowds in a speech that was also translated into Arabic for the refugees.
The Turkish parliament last week week authorised the government to take military action against IS extremists.
But Turkey has so far announced no plans to carry out military operations, with Ankara apparently seeking a commitment from the West to move against President Bashar al-Assad as well as IS.
"We are following the attacks on Kobane and other towns where our Kurdish brothers live with great concern," Erdogan said.
He added that the number of refugees in Turkey from the Kobane region had now risen to 200,000.
"We just want peace in this region," he said. "Turkey is on guard and well-equipped for any threats directed against itself," he added.
Erdogan again called for a no-fly zone above Syria and a safe zone to host refugees, and said moderate rebel groups fighting against Assad should be trained and equipped to defeat IS.
Turkey has infuriated Kurds living in the country and outside with its refusal to allow Kurdish fighters over the border to fight IS.
But Erdogan reaffirmed his hostility to Kurdish militants, comparing the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which has fought a 30-year insurgency in Turkey with IS.
"PKK and ISIS are exactly the same thing for us," Erdogan said, using a different variant of the name for IS.
"Those talking about Kobane are using it as a political bargaining chip and to blackmail us for the peace process," he said.
