ANKARA - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday accused the West of bombing Arabs and Turkmens in Syria while supporting Kurdish "terrorist" groups which he said were taking their place.

Moderate Syrian rebels and Kurdish forces have been fighting Islamic State insurgents holding the Syrian border town of Tel Abyad in recent days, sending thousands of people fleeing to Turkey.

Turkey is uncomfortable with gains by Kurdish YPG forces in Syria, saying they have links with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has fought a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state.

Erdogan has also questioned the effectiveness of bombing raids by a US-led coalition aimed at degrading Islamic State.