"The terror will not be over […] unless we cooperate for a ground operation," Erdoğan said in a televised speech from the eastern city of Gaziantep where he addressed a large crowd of Syrian refugees on the fourth day of Eid al-Adha on Tuesday.
ISIS fighters using tanks and heavy weapons looted from captured army bases in Iraq and Syria have been pounding Kurdish forces in the strategic town for days and planted their black flag on the town's outskirts after seizing several nearby villages in an offensive launched last month.
Erdoğan said the U.S.-led coalition air campaign launched last month would not be enough to halt ISIS advances and called for greater cooperation with the Syrian opposition, which is fighting both ISIS and forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad.
"Months have passed but no results have been achieved. Kobani is about to fall," he told an audience mainly composed of Syrian refugees in the city's Islahiye refugee camp.
"I am telling the West – dropping bombs from the air will not provide a solution," Erdoğan said to cheers from the crowds. "We asked for three things: one, for a no-fly zone to be created; two, for a safe zone parallel to the region to be declared and for the moderate opposition in Syria and Iraq to be trained and equipped."
Turkish Parliament last week authorized the government to take military action in Syria and Iraq if necessary, but so far no plans to carry out any operations have been announced.
"We are following the attacks on Kobani and other towns where our Kurdish brothers live with great concern," Erdoğan said. He added that the number of refugees in Turkey from the Kobani region had now risen to 200,000.
"We just want peace in this region," he said. "Turkey is on guard and well-equipped for any threats directed against it."
Reiterating that Turkey has no intention of invading anyone's country, Erdoğan told the crowd of Syrian refugees that he feels privileged to host war-stricken Syrians whose number exceed 1.5 million in Turkey.
ISIS militants tightened their grip on the Kurdish-populated city of Kobani in Syria, just a few kilometers from the Turkish border, closing in on the city center Monday amid fierce street battles, according to local sources.
Clashes between Kurdish groups and ISIS militants continued around the city, also known as Ayn al-Arab, all day, and ISIS had largely seized control of eastern Kobani using heavy weapons, Turkish media reported on Tuesday. Sources said more than 2,000 ISIS fighters took part in the offensive.
ISIS militants, who otherwise control large parts of territory in Syria and Iraq, have recently been attacking the border town of Kobani from all directions. Around 160,000 Kurdish refugees have taken shelter in Turkey, according to Turkish government officials in Ankara, since the country opened its border on Sept. 19.
