By Gozde Nur Donat
ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan
There is no difference between the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Both are terrorists," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.
But some countries feel sympathy for the PKK, which they claim is secular, Erdogan said.
"PKK and ISIL, two terrorist organizations, are now fighting in Ayn-al-Arab, whose old name is Kobani in Syria. We certainly stand against the ISIL terrorists, with a principled position, along with the whole world. But the interesting thing is, those who should stand against the PKK in principle actually take its side, as they claim PKK is secular," said Erdogan, in a speech in Turkmenistan.
"The murderer is a murderer. Taking sides between murderers and butchers makes one a party to the crime," Erdogan said.
The PKK-offshoot Democratic Unity Party, or PYD, has been fighting against ISIL since March, and ISIL made a great advance as of September into the Syrian Kurdish town, bringing it to the brink of falling.
Turkey has raised its voice against military aid to the PYD by the U.S. in October, and supported the Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga and the Syrian armed opposition in the town.
Israeli attack on Al-Aqsa mosque "unforgivable"
Erdogan also termed the Israeli attack on the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem "unforgivable," saying it belongs to the entire Muslim world, not only to Palestinians.
"The Al-Aqsa mosque is not only a Palestinian temple, it is the holy temple of all Muslims. The Israeli administration has to stop this barbarism. This action against Al-Aqsa is unforgivable," he said.
Israeli security forces and a number of Jewish settlers stormed the Al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem on Wednesday, according to Palestinian officials.
A Palestinian guard of the holy complex said Israeli security forces stormed into the compound's courtyards through the Al-Magharbeh and Al-Silsila gates and began shooting rubber bullets at the worshippers and religious students, leaving many injured.
The violence came as several extremist Jewish groups called for mass intrusions into Al-Aqsa Mosque after the shooting a week ago of a rabbi, Yehuda Glick, who many considered to have extremist views, in Jerusalem by a Palestinian man.
For Muslims, Al-Aqsa represents the world's third-holiest site, while Jews refer to the area as the Temple Mount which they consider to be the site of two Jewish temples in ancient times.
www.aa.com.tr/en
