ANKARA, October 8 (RIA Novosti) – If the Islamic State (IS) militants capture the Syrian city of Kobani, populated by Kurds, it close the door to the settlement of the Kurdish problem in Turkey, a source in the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party told RIA Novosti on Wednesday.
"In the case that Kobani is captured by Islamic terrorists, all radical Turkish Kurds will take to the streets. The Turkish government will be to blame for this, since its passive attitude to the current events assists the Islamic State and contributes to the massacres of Kurds in Syria," the source told RIA Novosti. "The fall of Kobani will put an end to the settlement of the Kurdish issue in Turkey. If Kobani falls, the entire Turkey will fall as well."
IS militants and Kurdish forces have been clashing over the Syrian town of Kobani, on the Turkish border, for three weeks. The Turkish military has reportedly deployed more troops at the border, including tanks and armored vehicles. Ankara, though, has so far been reluctant to intervene, despite the parliament's authorization to use military force against the jihadists.
The IS Sunni extremist group has seized large parts of Iraq and Syria and proclaimed an Islamic caliphate on the areas it controls. Its rapid advance in northern Iraq triggered a response from Washington, which launched airstrikes against the insurgents fighting on the Iraqi soil in August. The military action was subsequently extended to Syria with international coalition taking part in air raids.
