Turkey retaliates at Syria for sixth consecutive day

Published time: October 08, 2012 13:17
Edited time: October 12, 2012 16:40
A Turkish army armoured personnel carrier is dug in on the border with Syria near Akcakale on October 7, 2012 (AFP Photo)

Turkey has returned fire after mortar from Syria landed in Turkey’s Hatay province, Reuters reports. It's the sixth day of retaliation, as Syrian fighting continues to spill across the border.

The round from Syria landed 150-200 meters within Turkey's border in the district of Hacipasa, according to a local official.

"The worst-case scenarios are taking place right now in Syria … Our government is in constant consultation with the Turkish military. Whatever is needed is being done immediately as you see, and it will continue to be done," Turkish President Abdullah Gul said in a statement on Monday.

The retaliatory fire comes just two days after Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu warned that the country would respond forcefully to every Syrian shell that lands on Turkish soil.

Turkish soldiers were deployed along the border near Akcakale earlier on Monday.

Some residents in the town have abandoned their homes and students have been asked to stay home.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has warned of the consequences that the Syria-Turkey conflict could bring to the region.

“The escalation of the conflict along the Syrian-Turkish border and the impact of the crisis on Lebanon are extremely dangerous,” Ban said at the opening of the World Forum for Democracy in Strasbourg, France.

Just yesterday, a mortar from Syria hit near a plant belonging to the Turkish Grain board, several hundred meters from the center of Akcakale.

A short time later, at least six mortars could be heard fired from Turkey. The mayor of the town, Abdulhakim Ayhan, confirmed that Turkish artillery immediately had returned fire.

No casualties resulted from Sunday’s exchange.

The crisis between the two countries began on Wednesday, when Syrian mortar shells killed a woman and four children from the same family in Akcakale. The shells also wounded at least 13 people. The incident prompted artillery strikes from neighboring Turkey.

The recent exchanges of fire have stoked fears that Syria’s conflict will escalate into regional instability.


Comments (76)

jha (unregistered) 09.10.2012 18:54

Captain Obvious (unregistered) wrote in #14

you have a very under-developed world view. 

Internationa l politics is much like a game of football with no limit how many teams can play at once and each of 200 countries is a player.  Every team needs star and supporters.  A great goalie is nothing if his teams has no offense.  A team with 11 stars is no good either because they always bicker.  On a good team every player is important.  Nato is the best team and Turkey is a player on that team.  It does not make them a puppet.  The co-captains of NATO are UK, Germany, and USA.  They are captains because the players trust them. 
Russia had a chance to be on the EU team and NATO probably would have faded away.  But Putin wants to be THE star player and EU already has good captains.Syria and Iran do not play well with others at all.  They threaten to destroy the ball and turn over the net unless you make them captain.  So they are on their own team with only three players.  They think they are good.  But that is only because they have never played a real game.--------------- -------------------- ----------Sorry in my small village in Turkey we only watch football on tv...We prefer to put oil on our body and wrestle peacefully amongst ourselves...and dream that one of us will be the champion of Turkey.Kicking the ball for making the British and Americans score a goal...ain't a good motivation.And it seems that your game is a little bloody and costly in innocent civilian lives...

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TURKEY A ROGUE STATE (unregistered) 09.10.2012 05:03

Turkey is setting these False flag events to look like it is the Syrian Government. "Syria apologized for the shelling". WHERE??????????????? ???????????????????? ? This is what the PIMPS AT CNN are telling the world.
CNN has been producing FAKE Videos for the FSA and AL QUEDA in Syria. CNN "JOURNALISTS" have been embedded with the Terrorists in Turkey and in Syria.
CNN Journalists were pretty happy and were Grandstanding when they were filming Al Queda MAKING IEDs to explode killing anyone on site.
THE PIG FSA LEADER is living it up in Turkey in 7 STAR LUXURY sending execution orders from his luxury abode in Turkey.
He is being readied by Washington to Control Syria. Ofcourse many millions have been deposited to a Swiss Bank account.
Turkish Genocidal Regime is preparing to slaughter EVERY CHRISTIAN IN SYRIA THROUGH ITS TERRORISTS ALREADY IN SYRIA and with the FALSE FLAG EVENT NOW HAPPENING BLAMING ASSAD FOR THE SHELLING WHEN THE SHELLING IS BEING DONE BY THE FSA.

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Captain Obvious (unregistered) 09.10.2012 01:02

jha (unregistered) wrote in #19
i remember this young Turkish soldier runing for his life...desperate...w ith no gun in his hand...runing...and i can still see the Wahhabis holding him and cutting his throat....while the British and French smiled...
Now Erdogan opened bases inside Turkey for British-French-Ameri can secret services to train terrorist Wahhabis with Saudi-Qatari money...so they can go inside Syria and cut the throat of Syrians...
Erdoga n and his generals want to attack a neighbor that is in the middle of a civil war...bahhhhhhhh don't listen to me...on CNN you'll be the heroes of the day...Saudis and Qataris will invest a lot of money in your countries...America will say that the Armenian Genocide never hapenned...Russians will build for you nuclear plants and you may even be invited at the European Union table....
you can do it but people who obey or who are bought can't pretend to be a great nation....only a proxy...I can already hear Americans-British-Sa udis talking about important things...but i don't see you Turks at their table...
**** *****************you have a very under-developed world view. 

Internationa l politics is much like a game of football with no limit how many teams can play at once and each of 200 countries is a player.  Every team needs star and supporters.  A great goalie is nothing if his teams has no offense.  A team with 11 stars is no good either because they always bicker.  On a good team every player is important.  Nato is the best team and Turkey is a player on that team.  It does not make them a puppet.  The co-captains of NATO are UK, Germany, and USA.  They are captains because the players trust them. 
Russia had a chance to be on the EU team and NATO probably would have faded away.  But Putin wants to be THE star player and EU already has good captains.Syria and Iran do not play well with others at all.  They threaten to destroy the ball and turn over the net unless you make them captain.  So they are on their own team with only three players.  They think they are good.  But that is only because they have never played a real game.

0

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