IS conflict: Nato to discuss Turkey-Syria border crisis
IS conflict: Nato to discuss Turkey-Syria border crisis
(about 1 hour later)
All 28 Nato members are joining an extraordinary meeting to discuss Turkey's campaign against the Islamic State (IS) group and Kurdish militants.
NATO is holding an emergency meeting in Brussels to discuss Turkey's military campaign against the Islamic State (IS) group and Kurdish militants.
The meeting was called by Turkey, which has staged a dramatic shift in its approach to the Syrian conflict.
Turkey was until recently a reluctant partner in the US coalition against IS, but over the past few days it has bombed IS and Kurdish positions.
The previously reluctant partner in the US-led coalition against IS has launched raids against IS in Syria.
Turkey is also backing plans for a buffer zone on the border with Syria.
Turkey's prime minister said he expects his country's allies to show solidarity and support for its campaign.
Turkey's prime minister said he expects his country's allies to show solidarity and support for its campaign.
Analysts say a factor in its change in stance on the Syrian conflict are plans - not yet formally announced - to establish an "Islamic State-free zone" along its Syrian border in collaboration with the US.
As well as targeting IS militants, it would also allow Turkey to hit positions held by the Kurdish PKK group. Turkey says it draws no distinction between the PKK and IS, considering them both as terrorist organisations.
In a series of cross-border strikes since Friday, Turkey has not only targeted IS but also Kurdish fighters affiliated with forces battling the extremists in Syria and Iraq.
Meanwhile Turkish police have continued to arrest suspected members of IS, the PKK and leftist groups - more than 1,000 over the past week.
Meanwhile Turkish police have continued to arrest suspected members of IS, the PKK and leftist groups - more than 1,000 over the past week.
Buffer zone
The US and Turkey are working together on plans to create an "IS-free zone" along the border with Syria.
Under the plans being finalised for the buffer zone, the militants would be removed from a 68-mile (109km) stretch west of the Euphrates River, officials say.
As well as targeting IS militants, the zone would also allow Turkey to hit positions held by the outlawed Kurdish PKK group.
Such a deal would significantly increase the scope of the US-led air war against IS in northern Syria.
Turkey says it draws no distinction between the PKK and IS, considering them both terrorist organisations.
Last week Turkey agreed to allow the US to use its air base in Incirlik to launch air strikes against IS.
Kurdish acronyms:
The Turkish government has long denied turning a blind eye to the rise of IS - or even actively backing the jihadists against the Assad regime, says the BBC's Mark Lowen in Istanbul.
Unusual meeting
But a wave of militant strikes has prompted it to take action.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the creation of a "safe zone" would pave the way for the return of Syrian refugees.
Nonetheless, critics believe Turkey is only striking the jihadists as cover for going after its real enemy: the Kurds, our correspondent says.
Turkey is struggling with more than 1.8 million refugees from the Syrian conflict.
The Turkish government's reluctance to hit IS earlier, the argument goes, was actually a reluctance to help Kurds fighting IS militants.
Under the plan, militants would be removed from a 68-mile (109km) stretch west of the Euphrates River, officials say.
Now both can be bombed, Turkey is willing to get involved, he adds.
Such a deal would significantly increase the scope of the US-led air war against IS in northern Syria, say analysts.
Analysis: Paul Adams, BBC diplomatic correspondent
The crisis has exacerbated tensions in a part of Turkey where a conflict between the outlawed PKK and government troops has killed about 40,000 people since 1984.
Turkey's long-awaited involvement in the international coalition against IS, flying combat missions and making its vital airbases available to US jets, has been described as a possible "game changer."
Last week Turkey agreed to allow the US to use its air base at Incirlik to launch air strikes against IS.
But if the government in Ankara continues to see no difference between IS and the Kurdish PKK - a position repeated on Monday by Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu - then its latest move presents the rest of the coalition, in particular the Americans, with a dilemma.
Turkey called the meeting of ambassadors to Nato under a clause allowing members to request a summit if their territorial integrity or security is threatened.
For almost a year, Kurdish rebels (the YPG, closely allied with the PKK) have represented Washington's best hope for confronting IS on the ground in Syria.
It is only the fifth such request in the alliance's history.
But Turkey has no interest in promoting Kurdish success along its southern border, at a time when its own unresolved Kurdish conflict threatens to explode once more.
'Nato's responsibility'
Turkey's cross-border strikes followed a wave of attacks by militants on Turkish soil.
In the worst incident, IS-linked militants killed 32 people in the Kurdish-majority town of Suruc, near the Syrian border on 20 July.
Analysis: Mark Lowen, BBC News, Istanbul
The Turkish government has long been accused of at best turning a blind eye to the rise of IS - and at worst, actively backing the jihadists against the Assad regime. It has always denied the allegation.
But last week came the suicide bombing in Suruc, southern Turkey, in which 32 died and which Turkey blamed on a militant trained by IS.
Ankara's strategy is complex. Alongside the IS strikes, Turkey has now bombed several PKK positions and arrested hundreds of suspected members of the group.
Critics believe Turkey is only striking the jihadists as cover for going after its real enemy: the Kurds.
Ankara's reluctance to hit IS earlier, the argument goes, was actually a reluctance to help Kurds fighting IS militants. Now both can be bombed, Turkey is willing to get involved.
Read more: Turkey - from reluctant observer to full player in IS fight
What can Turkey gain from Nato meeting?
What can Turkey gain from Nato meeting?
Turkish press fears new civil war
Turkish press fears new civil war
Turkey's dangerous game
Turkey's dangerous game
Who are the PKK?
Who are the PKK?
Unusual meeting
Turkey insists Syrian Kurds are "outside the scope of the current military effort".
Turkey, a key Nato member, called Tuesday's meeting of the North Atlantic Council under Article 4 of the alliance's founding treaty.
But overnight on Monday, the YPG Kurdish armed force in Syria said Turkish tanks hit its positions in a village in Syria's Aleppo province, wounding fighters and villagers, reported the AFP news agency.
The clause allows members to request a summit if their territorial integrity or security is threatened.
Meanwhile, the PKK was suspected of shooting dead a military police commander in the south-eastern Turkish province of Mus late on Monday.
It is only the fifth time in the alliance's history that a member state has requested such a meeting.
As Turkey and the PKK continue tit-for-tat attacks, the possibility grows of a return to armed conflict, our correspondent warns.
The strikes followed a wave of attacks by militants on Turkish soil.
If that happens, Turkey will be plunged into a serious crisis and the West's strategy against Islamic State could be severely hampered.
"The Turkey-Syria border, the Turkey-Iraq border is Nato's responsibility to protect," Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said.
The week that changed Turkey
"Rather than an operational decision [at Tuesday's meeting], we are hoping all allies understand Turkey's intentions and for them to support Turkey in its security measures when needed in the ongoing fight."
Turkey is struggling with more than 1.8 million refugees from the Syrian conflict. On 20 July IS-linked militants killed 32 people in the Kurdish-majority town of Suruc, near the Syrian border.
The crisis has exacerbated tensions in a part of Turkey where a conflict between the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and government troops has killed about 40,000 people since 1984.
The PKK claimed an attack which killed two Turkish police officers on Thursday. It said it was in retaliation for the Suruc bombing and what the group sees as Turkey's collaboration with IS.
Turkish operations in Syria have also led to tensions with Kurdish militia forces fighting IS in northern Syria.
On Monday Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) said Turkish tanks had shelled their positions near the Syrian town of Kobane.
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