ERBIL, Iraq
Iraq's Kurdish parliament unanimously voted Wednesday to send peshmerga forces via Turkey to the besieged Syrian town of Kobani to fight against militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL.
Yusuf Mohammed Sadiq, president of the Kurdish parliament, had presented the bill, which was accepted by all members.
Sadiq said peshmerga forces would go to Kobani as a part of an international coalition’s "fight against terrorism."
This is the first time peshmerga would venture out of its region to combat "terrorists," he said.
"This decision is a step to ensure the safety of the world," he stressed.
He added that the People's Protection Units, or the YPG and other Kurdish groups were battling ISIL in Kobani “heroically.”
“Today is a historic day for our people. We salute all our heroes who fought at the fronts,” he said.
After the voting, the peshmerga minister, Syed Mustafa Kadir, said that "an appropriate number of peshmerga will be sent to Kobani along with the needed military equipment." He did not elaborate on the troop number or their equipment.
However, Aydin Maruf, a parliamentarian from the Iraqi Turkmen Front, has said the Iraqi Kurdish regional government will send 200 troops.
Maruf said peshmerga will travel from Turkey's southeastern provinces of Sirnak and Hakkari to the Suruc district of Sanliurfa, which borders Kobani.
Muhammad Ilhanli, another lawmaker from the Iraqi Turkmen Front, claimed that the 200-strong peshmerga force "will go to Kobani with heavy weapons -- and they will use them."
Kobani, also known as Ayn al-Arab, is currently under the control of the People’s Protection Units -- the armed wing of the Democratic Union Party.
The Syrian-Turkish border town has been the scene of fierce battles between Kurdish groups and ISIL since mid-September.
The vote at the regional parliament came two days after Turkey said it would help peshmerga forces access Kobani.
www.aa.com.tr/en
