News Digest

France backs Turkey-Syria ‘buffer zone’ as anti-IS airstrikes continue

France said on Wednesday it supported the idea of setting up a buffer zone between Turkey and Syria to create a safe haven for displaced people, President Francois Hollande’s office said after he spoke to his Turkish counterpart. The statement added that France and Turkey also agreed on the need to give more support to the moderate Syrian opposition to fight Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the Islamic State. The news came as two new airstrikes were reportedly carried out against Islamic State (IS) targets around the key Syrian border town of Kobani.

(The president) insisted on the need to avoid massacres in the north of Syria. He gave his support to the idea proposed by President Erdogan to create a buffer zone between Syria and Turkey to host and protect displaced people.

Statement from President Francois Hollande’s office

They were the first airstrikes since a flurry of attacks yesterday, which some sources said had helped Kurdish fighters of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) push back the IS militants. It comes after at least 12 people were killed during pro-Kurdish demonstrations in Turkey, with protesters claiming the country is not doing enough in the fight against Islamic State jihadists. According to reports, five people have been killed in Diyarbakir, the largest town in Turkey’s majority-Kurdish southeast region. US, Saudi Arabian and United Arab Emirates jets had previously launched five attacks against targets south of the city.

This irrational attitude should immediately be abandoned and (the protesters) should withdraw from the streets.

Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala