Turkey responds to Syrian killing, but won’t declare war
Turkey says it has no intention of declaring war on Syria, despite cross-border shelling in which five civilians were killed. Syria says it is investigating the shelling in the town of Akcakale.
Photo/Freedom House
Turkey has responded with an attack of their own, killing several Syrian troops, says UK-based Syrian activist group said.
Sky reports that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s views were tweeted as Turkey returned fire into Syria in response to overnight cross-border shelling which left five Turkish civilians dead and at least eight other people, including police officers, wounded.
The Turkish parliament will hold a special session and likely authorize a government request for future strikes across the border if “deemed necessary.”
Nato has held an urgent meeting to support Turkey, demanding “the immediate cessation of such aggressive acts against an ally“.
The US, the UK, France and the European Union have already condemned Syria’s actions.
Russia, which is allied to President Bashar al-Assad’s government, has asked Damascus to acknowledge officially that the cross-border attack was “a tragic accident” which will not happen again.
Syrian violence continues as car bombings killed another 40 near Aleppo.
Suicide car bombers struck Saadallah al Jabri Square, the city’s largest plaza and once the site of huge pro-government rallies, the official Syrian Arab News Agency said. The agency put the death toll at 34, though other reports indicated that 40 or more had been killed, and said 122 were injured.
[…] Most experts are not hopeful that peace will come from a post-Assad regime, especially after the rebels have sparked conflict with neighboring Turkey. (Read more here.) […]