World Bulletin/News Desk

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Wednesday Turkey would not permit its nationals to fight against the ISIL, in the Syrian town of Kobani.

"We do not want any of our nationals to fight in Syria and we are trying to stop those who illegally cross the border," Davutoglu told the media after he was given a briefing at the Turkish Interior Ministry.

He said he was aware of the dead bodies of Turkish nationals of Kurdish origin arriving from Kobani, where fierce clashes are taking place between Kurdish groups and the ISIL militants. He said this caused him “sorrow.”

The prime minister said Turkey would not allow its nationals to join the fight in Kobani, whether they are pro-ISIL or supporters of Syrian opposition or pro-Kurdish groups.

He slammed Selahattin Demirtas, opposition leader of the Peoples' Democratic Party, or the HDP, for his remarks last Tuesday in which he said “tens of thousands Kurdish youth” were supposedly ready to take on the ISIL if only the Turkish-Syrian border gates into Kobani were opened.

"If any Syrian wants to go to Syria for fighting, the border gates are open for them, but they themselves do not want to go," he said.

He said around 300 members of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, or the PYD, had laid down their arms in Syria and took refuge in Turkey.

"Just a small group of them wanted to cross the border to fight the ISIL militants, whereas the majority wanted to stay safely in Turkey," the premier said. 

"What can we do? Do we force them to go back?" he asked.

He said the Turkish Republic safeguards all nationals regardless of their ethnicities.  

The prime minister reiterated his determination to “never open” the borders for foreign fighters and said Turkey had implemented measures to prohibit such groups from entering the conflict zones via their country.

“The Turkish border gates are open only for humanitarian aims,” he said.

He also condemned those who viewed Turkey as a source of the problem in the region and said their country was never responsible for clashes in Syria and Kobani.