Syria

Shelling resumes at Turkish-Syrian border - reports

The Turkish military reportedly fired at Syria on Saturday morning in response to mortars from Syria landing near a Turkish farm. If follows a similar incident on Friday.

RT,

5 October, 2012

Two mortar shells landed in rural areas near the village of Guvecci in the early morning and at midday.

The exchange occurred near the village of Guvecci in Hatay province according to Turkey's Anadolu Agency. 

“It is assessed that the shell was fired by Syrian Arab Republic security forces at opposition forces along the border,"the Hatay governor's office said in a statement on its website said.

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has expressed concern that the continued exchange of artillery fire between Syria and Turkey could lead to further escalation of the conflict and may spread to neighboring countries, AP reports. 

Earlier on Friday afternoon a mortar shell fell near the town of Yayladagi, some 50 meters away from the Syrian border. The Turkish army immediately “fired back at targets” within Syria, Turkish media report quoting officials.

No injuries were reported in Turkey from either incident.

At the same time RT’s correspondent Paula Slier reports that the shelling of Turkish territory is done from a Syrian region controlled by rebel forces, which prompts some observers to speculate that the rebels are trying to provoke their ally Turkey into a military intervention against the government of Bashar al-Assad.

Meanwhile, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that after hours of fights rebels had attacked army positions in the Syrian villages of Khirbet al-Jouz and Darkoush, some 16 kilometers (10 miles) from Guvecci. 

The organization reports 25 soldiers and three rebels were killed. 

"After seizing the village, the rebels raised the revolutionary flag over a former army checkpoint in the area," AFP quotes the Observatory's chief Rami Abdul-Rahman as saying. 

Turkish soldiers gesture as they stand guard near the Turkish-Syria border on October 5, 2012 in Akcakale, southern Sanliurfa province. (AFP Photo/Bulent Kilic)

‘Attacks on Turkey fatal mistake’

 

On Friday, Turkish Prime Minster Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Syria that future attacks on his country’s territory would be a “fatal mistake,” Reuters reports.

“We are not interested in war, but we're not far from war either. This nation has come to where it is today having gone through intercontinental wars," Erdogan said in his speech. "Those who attempt to test Turkey's deterrence, its decisiveness, its capacity, I say here they are making a fatal mistake." 

On Friday, the US said it supports Turkey, saying that “action is appropriate.”

The White House spokesman Josh Earnest also said that the United States “condemns the violence and the aggressive actions of the Syrians.”

Author and journalist Afshin Rattansi told RT that this kind of flashpoint could create World War III.

“Turkey is a NATO member. NATO says it will defend any NATO member. If Turkey continues like this, Syria might see itself getting increasingly desperate and retaliate with full force,” he explained. “Then it is up to the US and Britain and European NATO allies just figure out what to do. What we need urgently right now is a peace conference. The Arab League have proved themselves useless. The UN have proved themselves useless. It is up to China and Russia because they are the only people stopping the full-scale war that will only help forces such as Al-Qaeda.”

The exchange of fire between the two countries follows a similar incident on Wednesday, which left five people dead and eight others wounded.Turkey's artillery pounded targets inside Syria for twelve hours in retaliation for the killings.

On Thursday, Turkey’s parliament also authorized cross-border military operations into Syria "when necessary."

The UN Security Council has urged Ankara and Damascus to exercise restraint.

Russia says it has received assurances from Damascus that Wednesday's strike on Turkey was a tragic accident. But Erdogan dismissed that pointing out this was not the first time Syrian mortar rounds had reached Turkey. Previously, bombs had been hitting non-residential areas, said the PM, so Turkey only filed protests. The PM stressed that the deaths of two women and three children could not have been handled the same way.

Turkey, Syria trade artillery fire for fourth day

Turkey and Syria traded artillery fire for the fourth day in a row Saturday as rebels clashed with Syrian President Bashar Assad’s forces near the border, heightening fears that the crisis could erupt into a regional conflict.

the Star,

6 October, 2012

Also Saturday, Syrian Defence Minister Gen. Fahd Jassem al-Freij vowed to crush the rebellion and bring the violence that has engulfed the country to an end.

The diplomatic crisis began on Wednesday, when a Syrian shell killed five civilians in a Turkish border town and triggered unprecedented artillery strikes by Turkey. Ankara has deployed more troops to its southern border with Syria and has responded to each shell that has struck Turkish soil with its own artillery barrage.

On Friday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan cautioned Damascus not to test Turkey’s “limits and determination” and said Ankara was not bluffing in saying it won’t tolerate such acts.

Saturday’s cross-border exchange began when two mortar shells fired from Syria landed in rural areas near the Turkish village of Guvecci, prompting Turkish return fire, Turkey’s media reported.

Later Saturday, a third shell hit near another village in Turkey’s Hatay province and Turkish troops fired back, the office of the provincial governor said. No casualties were reported.

The first exchange happened shortly after intense fighting broke out across the border in Syria’s Idlib province between Syrian rebels and regime forces, the private Dogan news agency reported.

A Turkish army unit based near Guvecci fired four 81-mm mortar shells in the first instance and two shells in the second, it said. No casualties were reported.

The Hatay governor’s office indicated the Syrian mortar had landed in Turkey accidentally, saying it was believed “to be have been fired by the forces of the Syrian Arab Republic at Syrian rebel groups on the Syrian side of the border.”

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said rebels had attacked army positions in the Syrian villages of Khirbet al-Jouz and Darkoush about 16 kilometres from Guvecci. Observatory director Rami Abdul-Rahman said both sides were exchanging mortar fire.

Relations between Turkey and Syria, once strong allies, deteriorated sharply after the uprising against Assad began in March last year. Turkey became one of the harshest critics of Assad’s crackdown while Syria accused Ankara of aiding rebels.

Also Saturday, Assad made a rare public appearance when he laid a wreath at the country’s Unknown Soldier statue in Damascus to mark the anniversary of the 1973 war with Israel, also known in Syria as the October War. Syrian state television broadcast the ceremony and likened the current crisis to the war with Israel.

Damascus denies it is facing a popular uprising; instead it blames the violence on a foreign conspiracy linked to its support for anti-Israeli groups such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah.

Syria’s defence minister said Saturday that the government is ready to give amnesty to rebels who repent and those who don’t “will be crushed under the feet of our soldiers.”

Al-Freij, who became defence minister in July after his predecessor was assassinated, also claimed the regime was getting the upper hand. “The most dangerous parts of the conspiracy have been passed and the killing is on its way to decline,” he said.

The defence minister, who rarely makes public comments, spoke as Syrian troops launched a major offensive to retake rebel-held areas in the northern city of Aleppo, the central city of Homs and towns near the border with Lebanon.

Despite his claims of government troops being on the brink of restoring stability, the violence across the country shows no signs of abating. Activists say that at least 30,000 people have been killed since the anti-Assad uprising began.

RT interiew with Afshin Rattansi