IS conflict: Nato to discuss Turkey-Syria border crisis

Envoys from all 28 Nato countries are to hold a emergency meeting to discuss Turkey's campaign against the Islamic State (IS) group and Kurdish militants.

The meeting in Brussels was called by Turkey, which has become involved in the Syrian conflict in recent days.

The country, which had previously been reluctant to intervene, has launched raids against IS in Syria and Kurdish PKK guerrillas in northern Iraq.

The strikes followed a wave of attacks by militants on Turkish soil.

Turkey, a key Nato member, called Tuesday's meeting of the North Atlantic Council under Article 4 of the alliance's founding treaty.

The clause allows members to request a summit if their territorial integrity or security is threatened.

It is only the fifth time in the alliance's history that a member state has requested such a meeting.

It will give Turkey's Nato allies the opportunity to work out its goals and motivation, after the country has stood on the sidelines of the Syria conflict for so long, says the BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale.

IS-free zone

It will also offer a chance to hear about US and Turkish plans to set up a buffer zone.

Officials in Washington told media that the US and Turkey were working together on military plans to clear the Islamic State (IS) group from parts of northern Syria,

They said an "Islamic State-free zone" would ensure greater stability along the Syria-Turkish border.

Under the agreement being reportedly finalised, the militants would be removed from a 68-mile (109km) stretch west of the Euphrates River, according to the Washington Post.

Such a deal would significantly increase the scope of the US-led air war against IS in northern Syria, the paper says.

Last week Turkey agreed to allow the US to use its air base in Incirlik to launch air strikes against IS.

Syrian Kurds are "outside the scope of the current military effort", Turkey insists

Kurdish unrest

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.

A Turkish official said recent operations sought "to neutralise imminent threats to Turkey's regional security" and were targeting IS in Syria and the PKK in Iraq.

"We are investigating claims that the Turkish military engaged positions held by forces other than [IS]," the official said.

Kurdish forces within Syria, he added, remain "outside the scope of the current military effort".

Analysis: Paul Adams, BBC diplomatic correspondent

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."

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.

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.

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.

Turkey is struggling with more than 1.8 million refugees from the Syrian conflict.

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.

A Turkish official said recent operations sought "to neutralise imminent threats to Turkey's regional security" and were targeting IS in Syria and the PKK in Iraq.

"We are investigating claims that the Turkish military engaged positions held by forces other than [IS]," the official said.

Kurdish forces within Syria, he added, remain "outside the scope of the current military effort".

Meanwhile Turkish police have continued to arrest suspected members of IS or the PKK, more than 1,000 over the past week.

"The Turkey-Syria border, the Turkey-Iraq border is Nato's responsibility to protect," Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said.

"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."

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said the PKK and its allies in Syria are the same as IS and must be eradicated.

However, both UK Prime Minister David Cameron and the US state department reaffirmed that the focus of the allied campaign in the region was fighting IS.

Obama praises Ethiopia over fight against al-Shabab

US President Barack Obama has praised Ethiopia as an "outstanding partner" in the fight against militant Islamists.

Prime Minister  said Ethiopia's relationship with the US had reached "new heights"

Its troops had played a key role in weakening the al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group in Somalia, Mr Obama said.

He was speaking after talks with Ethiopia's PM Hailemariam Desalegn, during the first ever visit by a US president to the East African state.

He also called on Mr Hailemariam to improve Ethiopia's record on human rights and good governance.

"I don't bite my tongue too much when it comes to these issues," he said at a joint press conference in the capital, Addis Ababa.

BBC Africa Live: Obama in Ethiopia updates

Some rights groups have criticised Mr Obama's visit, warning that it could lend credibility to a government accused of jailing journalists and critics.

A legal case currently being fought through the US courts alleges that agents of the Ethiopian government eavesdropped on the internet activities of a man in the US state of Maryland.

The man, born in Ethiopia and now a US citizen, works for a political opposition group outlawed in his home country.

Addressing the media, Mr Obama described the Ethiopian government, which won all parliamentary seats in May's election, as "democratically elected".

Opposition group have said the poll was rigged.

'Democracy commitment not skin-deep'

Mr Hailemariam said Mr Obama's visit had taken a century-long relationship with the US to a "new height".

"Our commitment to democracy is real, not skin-deep," he added.

Answering a question about press freedom, Mr Hailemariam said Ethiopia wanted "civilised journalism", and not reporters linked with "violent terrorist groups".

A 21-gun salute greeted the US president as he arrived for the talks in Addis Ababa

On the security threat by al-Shabab, Mr Obama said there had been a "shrinkage" of the group since the deployment of regional troops to Somalia, its main base.

However, the killing of 15 people in a bomb attack on a hotel in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, on Sunday was a reminder that "we have to now keep the pressure on", he said.

"We don't need to send our own marines in to do the fighting: The Ethiopians are tough fighters and the Kenyans and Ugandans have been serious about what they're doing."

Mr Obama flew to Ethiopia after a two-day visit to Kenya where he had discussed trade and security but also called for greater human rights and warned of the dangers of corruption.

At the scene: Karen Allen, BBC News, Addis Ababa

Compared to the Kenyan leg of his tour, President Obama's arrival in Ethiopia has signalled a more sombre mood. After talks in the ornate setting of the presidential palace, Mr Obama sought to highlight the areas of agreement with his host and tread cautiously over the delicate issue of democratic rights.

He praised Mr Hailemariam for the country's contribution to peacekeeping efforts in the region, and said the US wanted to help "sustain momentum" on Ethiopia's impressive rates of economic growth. Addis Ababa has undergone a massive building boom, thanks in part to substantial Chinese investment

But on the thorny issue of press freedom, much still divides the pair. Mr Obama said it was a "significant topic of discussion", and insisted that a vibrant and free press would strengthen rather than inhibit Ethiopia's development. For his part, the prime minister called for "civilised journalism" and said Ethiopian journalists needed training.

Mr Obama also referred to the civil war in South Sudan ahead of talks with regional leaders on the issue.

Government and rebels leaders were "extremely stubborn", and other "tools" would have to be considered if there was no breakthrough in ending the conflict, he added.

The 19-month war in South Sudan has left thousands of people dead and displaced more than two million.

On Tuesday, Mr Obama will also be the first US leader to address the 54-member African Union in Addis Ababa.

Turkey - from reluctant observer to full player in IS fight

Within a week, it has gone from a reluctant observer, abstaining from military action against so-called Islamic State, to full-blown military strikesagainst the group, opening up its bases to coalition attacks and, simultaneously, the first aerial bombing of PKK Kurdish separatists in northern Iraq in four years.What is Turkey's game?

Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu is briefed as the country steps up security

Why the sudden turnaround?

For months, Ankara resisted military involvement in the US-led coalition of the willing. It insisted that the attacks also target President Bashar al-Assad's forces. Washington's reply was, in effect, that the immediate concern was IS and that the "Assad problem" needed to be put on the back burner.

But Turkey's second condition, that a no-fly zone be created in northern Syria, seems to have gained a little more traction.

Turkey's foreign minister now says a "safe area" along the Turkish border, free of IS militants, will be created, patrolled by coalition aircraft. That seems to have played a major role in jolting Turkey into action.

Turkey's change in tactics was given impetus by the Suruc killings

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. And then a firefight in which IS forces shot at Turkish border guards. That was, it appears, the final catalyst for Turkish involvement.

Complex

But 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.

That, too, was prompted by last week's violence, after the PKK killed Turkish police officers in the wake of the Suruc bombing, in retaliation for what they saw as Turkey's collaboration with IS. Could Washington's tacit toleration of the PKK strikes have been the price of Ankara's involvement against IS?

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.

Operations against Kurdish activists have prompted demonstrations by left-wing sympathisers

But there's also potentially a domestic political consideration.

In June's general election, the governing AK Party lost its majority and is now in coalition talks to form a government. If that fails, new elections would have to be held in which President Erdogan would hope the AKP could win back nationalist voters who had drifted away. By hitting the PKK and potentially ending the peace process - despised by nationalists - he could well achieve that and regain the AKP majority he craves.

Turkey is allowing the US to use Incirlik airbase in the fight against IS

The danger, though, is that this two-pronged attack will expose Turkey to more attacks by IS and foment more violence among Turkey's Kurdish minority, spurred by the PKK.

Forty-thousand people died during the 30-year armed conflict between the PKK and the Turkish state. Turkey can ill afford a return to the bad old days of the 1990s. But the ghosts of the past could be reawakened.

A perilous game indeed.

Turkey and US 'planning buffer zone' in northern Syria

The US and Turkey are working together on military plans to clear the Islamic State (IS) group from parts of northern Syria, American officials say.

They said an "Islamic State-free zone" would ensure greater stability along the Syria-Turkish border.

The talks follow a major shift in Turkey's approach to IS in recent days.

Turkey, which had been reluctant to intervene in Syria, has launched raids against IS and allowed US jets to use a Turkish base.

The Turkish operations have 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 fighters near the key town of Kobane.

Turkey said it was investigating the YPG's claim.

At the same time, Turkey has admitted launching strikes on the Kurdish PKK group in northern Iraq.

Turkey has battled PKK insurgents on its own territory in a conflict that has killed about 40,000 people since 1984.

Syrian Kurds are "outside the scope of the current military effort", Turkey insists

Turkey has said it has no plans to send ground troops into Syria.

"It's an effort to defeat, destroy, degrade ISIL (IS) in northern Syria, create an area there that is ISIL-free, if I could put it that way," US State Department spokesman Mark Toner told the BBC.

Further details of the efforts by the US and Turkey to set up a buffer zone in northern Syria were revealed by unnamed officials interviewed by US media.

Under the agreement being reportedly finalised, the militants would be removed from a 68-mile (109km) stretch west of the Euphrates River, according to the Washington Post.

Such a deal would significantly increase the scope of the US-led air war against IS in northern Syria, the paper says.

It could also increase tensions with Kurdish fighters, such as the YPG, who control much of northern Syria and are opposed to any Turkish military intervention there, correspondents say.

'Imminent threats'

On Monday the YPG said its forces had been attacked by Turkey in the Kurdish-held village of Zormikhar, west of Kobane, on Sunday evening.

It added that one of its vehicles had also come "under heavy fire from the Turkish military east of Kobane".

If the claims are true, this will complicate matters for the coalition against IS as Western powers are co-operating with Syrian Kurds against the jihadists, says the BBC's Mark Lowen in Istanbul.

A Turkish official said its recent military operations sought "to neutralise imminent threats to Turkey's regional security" and were targeting IS in Syria and the PKK in Iraq.

"We are investigating claims that the Turkish military engaged positions held by forces other than [IS]," the official said.

Kurdish forces within Syria, he added, remain "outside the scope of the current military effort".

Meanwhile Nato is preparing to hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday to discuss the situation.

Turkey asked for the meeting based on Article 4 of the organisation's treaty, which allows members to request such a summit if their territorial integrity or security is threatened.

Also on Monday, Turkish police continued to arrest suspected members of IS or the PKK.

More than 1,000 people have been detained in nationwide operations against the militant groups since last week, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said.

He did not say how many were suspected PKK fighters and how many are accused of belonging to IS.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said the PKK and its allies in Syria were the same as IS and must be eradicated.

However, UK Prime Minister David Cameron urged the Turks to focus of fighting IS, not Kurds.

The week that changed Turkey

• Monday: Thirty-two people are killed by IS-linked militants in the Kurdish-majority town of Suruc, near the border with Syria
• Thursday: IS forces shoot dead a Turkish border guard
• Meanwhile, the PKK reportedly kills two Turkish police officers in retaliation for Suruc and what it sees as Turkey's collaboration with IS
• Friday: Hundreds of suspected IS supporters are arrested and properties are searched; Turkish F-16 jets bomb three IS targets in Syria
• Saturday: Turkey strikes IS and PKK targets in Syria and Iraq; the PKK says the conditions are no longer in place to observe a ceasefire
• Sunday: Car bomb attack on a military convoy in Lice in Diyarbakir provincekills two soldiers as strikes on targets in Iraq and Syria continue

David Cameron begins trade mission in South East Asia

David Cameron says business deals worth more than £750m ($1.2bn) will be made during his tour of South East Asia.

Mr Cameron is to be accompanied by 31 UK business leaders on the trade mission, which starts in Indonesia.

The UK prime minister says he wants to forge links with the area's rapidly growing markets for British goods and services during his four-day trip.

He will also discuss the threat of the self-styled Islamic State group and climate change during his trip.

Business Secretary Sajid Javid is leading a separate delegation to the region from the North of England.

Analysis

By Ben Wright, BBC political correspondent

The prime minister's crammed itinerary will take in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore on a whistle-stop trade mission, the first of this Parliament.

While the EU remains Britain's biggest trading partner, Mr Cameron has been clear the UK needs to look beyond Europe, an ambition mirrored by frustration at the EU's level of competitiveness and regulation.

Last week, he said Britain needed to go "to the ends of the earth" to sell its wares.

The prime minster is sending a clear signal Britain must look east.

Not just to India and China, but to the largely untapped potential of South East Asia as well. By 2030, the region is expected to be the fourth-largest single market in the world.

Read more from Ben

'Dynamic market'

The prime minister said: "Over the next 20 years, 90% of global growth is expected to come from outside Europe, and Britain must be poised to take advantage.

"That's why I'm delighted to be taking British businesses to this vast and dynamic market, securing deals worth over £750m and creating opportunities for hard-working people back at home.

"We can also open up more markets for British businesses by leveraging the power of the EU's single market with 500 million consumers to secure bold, ambitious trade deals with these fastest, growing economies."

During the trip, the prime minister is expected to push for progress on a free trade deal between the European Union and South East Asian trading bloc, Asean, which Downing Street believes could provide £3bn a year to the British economy.

Mr Cameron said he would be making the case for an EU-Asean deal in talks with the group's secretary general Le Luong Minh.

Business leaders accompanying Mr Cameron include:

• Philip Bouverat, from JCB
• John Nelson, from Lloyd's of London
• Ann Cormack, from Rolls-Royce
• Leo Quinn, from Balfour Beatty
• Mark Wilson, from Aviva
• Paul Kahn, from Airbus Group UK
• Vivienne Stern, from UK Higher Education International Unit
• Sir Martin Sweeting, from Surrey Satellite Technology

Diplomatic tension?

It will be the first time a British prime minister has visited Vietnam and the headquarters of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), which promotes economic and trade growth among its 10 member states, in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Conservative MP Richard Graham has been appointed as a trade envoy specifically for the Asean economic community, which is due to be established by the end of the year, alongside the similar role he plays in Indonesia.

Asean is made up of 10 member states in South East Asia

The UK government will also make up to £1bn available to finance infrastructure projects in Indonesia through its export guarantee scheme during the trip.

It hopes the financing could pave the way for growth of £200m worth of exports to the UK.

But the BBC's Ben Wright said there could be diplomatic tension when the prime minister visits Indonesia if he raises the case of Lindsay Sandiford, who has been on death row in the country since 2013 for smuggling cocaine with a street value of £1.6m.

Mr Cameron will also urge closer counter-terrorism co-operation with South East Asian nations amid concerns IS will seek to gain a foothold in the region.

The threat of extremists will also be raised by Mr Cameron in meetings with President Joko Widodo in Jakarta and, later, Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia.

IS and other militant groups have been using propaganda in local languages and their support is thought to be growing.