Turkey on Sunday formally requested an emergency NATO meeting on Tuesday following an escalation of violence on its borders with Syria. Turkey invoked article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), which allows members to request assistance from allied nations in the event they feel  their ‘territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened’.

Violence has escalated after 32 people were killed, Monday, July 22-most Kurdish- by an Islamic State (IS) suspect near the Turkish-Syrian borders. Turkey responded by launching a 2-prong military airstrike campaign against IS positions in Syria and Kurdish militant targets.

NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg confirmed the request by releasing a statement saying that: “Turkey requested the meeting in view of the seriousness of the situation after heinous terrorist attacks in recent days, and also to inform allies of the measures it is taking”

Meanwhile, the Kurdish People’s Protection Unit (YPG), who Turkey consider terrorists, have accused the Turkish military of shelling the Kurdish-held village, Zur Maghar on the Syrian side of the two countries’ borders which led to the wounding of four Kurdish fighters. In a statement released the YPG said Turkey is targeting its defensive positions instead of Islamic terrorists. The news has also been corroborated by a monitoring group. Turkey denied it is targeting Syrian Kurds. It should be noted that the Kurdish forces have been very successful in fighting the IS terrorists in Syria and Iraq.