The support of the Kurdistan Regional Government-Iraq (KRG) for West-Kurdistan, especially for the border town of Kobane, which has been under siege for the past weeks, found its peak on Monday 20 October 2014 with the delivery of weapons to the defending Kurds as well as the commitment to deploy Peshmerga fighters in the contested city. US cargo jets transported weapons, ammunition, and medical supplies from the Kurdistan Region-Iraq to Kobane, to aid Kurdish fighters in their fierce resistance against the terror militia IS.
Chief of Staff Fuad Hussein confirms the deployment of Peshmerga
Moreover, on Monday, after several weeks of negotiations the KRG and representatives of the Turkish government agreed that Peshmerga troops may pass through Turkey. The creation of a transit corridor from Iraq through Turkey to Syria will guarantee and facilitate support from the Kurdistan Region to Kobane.
The chief of staff of the Kurdish Presidency, Fuad Hussein, confirmed the deployment of soldiers against IS. Additionally, he guaranteed that the weapons of Peshmerga fighters will not be given to any other group: “[The Peshmerga] will not give heavy weapons to somebody else; they will remain in their hands and bring them back. They are there just to support, to cover the fighters in Kobane.”
Additionally, Hussein emphasized: “There must be a good relationship between Kurds everywhere, especially because we are facing the same enemy, which moves from Mosul to Kobane to Kirkuk to Jalawla. And we are facing the same future, so we must stay together.”
Expressions of Gratitude by KRG and PYD
Finally, the Kurdistan Region-Iraq expressed its sincere gratitude for the lasting international support under the lead of the USA. “The Kurdistan Region Presidency expresses its gratitude to the United States government for its air support for Kurdistan against the terrorists of ISIS,” emphasizes the Presidency of the KRG in its statement.
Salih Muslim, leader of the Syrian-Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), in turn expressed the gratitude of Syrian Kurds for the ongoing aid for the Kurds in Rojava (Syrian Kurdistan) by the KRG, as well as the people of the Kurdistan Region. Cooperation in times of crisis proves the progressing unity between all Kurdish groups.
Picture from middleeasteye.net, (c) AFP
The current news coverage of ORF on this issue (German):
http://tvthek.orf.at/program/ZIB-9/71256/ZIB-9/8670481/Unterstuetzung-gegen-IS/8670487