Turkish go-ahead for army action in Syria
TURKEY stepped up retaliatory artillery strikes on a Syrian border town yesterday, killing several Syrian soldiers, while its parliament approved further military action in the event of another spillover of the conflict.
In New York yesterday, Russia blocked the adoption of a draft statement condemning Syria’s mortar attack on Turkey and proposed a weaker text that would call for “restraint” on the border without referring to breaches of international law.
Seeking to unwind the most serious cross-border escalation in its 18 month-old crackdown on dissent, Damascus apologised through the United Nations (UN) for the shelling that killed five civilians in southeast Turkey on Wednesday and said it would not happen again, Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said.
Syria’s staunch ally, Russia, said it had received assurances from Damascus that the mortar strike had been a tragic accident. But Turkey pointed out it was the latest of several incidents, including the shooting down of a Turkish reconnaissance jet three months ago and similar mortar strikes.
Turkey’s government said “aggressive action” against its territory by Syria’s military had become a serious threat to its national security and parliament approved the deployment of Turkish troops beyond needed.
“Turkey has no interest in a war with Syria. But Turkey is capable of protecting its borders and will retaliate when necessary,” Ibrahim Kalin, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, said. “Political, diplomatic initiatives will continue.”
The peaceful pro-democracy movement which surfaced in March last year in Syria turned into a full-scale armed revolt after President Bashar al-Assad tried to crush it and is now becoming a sectarian conflict that could destabilise neighbouring states.
Turkey hit back after what it called “the last straw” when the mortar hit Akcakale, killing a mother, her three children and a female relative.
Mr Atalay said Turkey had
its borders
if exercised its right to retaliation and that parliament’s authorisation for a foreign military deployment was not a “war memorandum”.
“It’s a deterrent measure taken in line with Turkey’s interests, for use when it needs to protect itself,” he said.
Three armoured personnel carriers were positioned on the southern edge of Akcakale, their guns trained on the Syrian town of Tel Abyad a few kilometres across the frontier. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said three Syrian soldiers had been killed by Turkish shelling of a military post nearby.
The observatory also reported clashes between Syrian rebels and the Syrian army at the military post, and said the rebels had killed 21 elite Republican
It’s a deterrent measure taken in line with Turkey’s interests, for use when it needs to protect itself
Guards yesterday in an ambush on an army minibus in a suburb northwest of Damascus.
Turkey’s parliament had already been due to vote yesterday on extending a five-year-old authorisation for foreign military operations, an agreement originally intended to allow strikes on Kurdish militant bases in northern Iraq. But the memorandum signed by Mr Erdogan and sent for parliament approval also said despite repeated warnings and diplomatic initiatives, the Syrian military had launched aggressive action against Turkish territory, presenting a “serious threat”.
“At this point the need has emerged to take the necessary measures to act promptly and swiftly against additional risks and threats,” it said.
Police fired tear gas at a small group of 25-30 antiwar protesters outside parliament as deputies debated the motion.
Turkey’s military response contrasted with its relative restraint when Syria shot down a Turkish reconnaissance jet in June. Ankara increased its military presence along its 900km border with Syria and called a meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation’s (Nato’s) North Atlantic Council.
At the time, Mr Erdogan warned any Syrian element approaching Turkey’s border and deemed a threat would be treated as a military target.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned Syria’s actions and urged all involved to show “common sense”.
Nato said it stood by membernation Turkey and urged Syria to put an end to “flagrant violations of international law”.
Turkey is sheltering more than 90,000 refugees from Syria and fears a mass influx similar to the flight of half-a-million Iraqi Kurds into Turkey after the 1991 Gulf War.
Violence in Syria intensified on Wednesday with three suicide car bombs and a mortar barrage in Aleppo, killing 48 people, activists said. Reuters