Turkey Warns of Stronger Response if Syria Shelling Goes on
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Turkey's top military commander on Wednesday warned of a stronger response if Syrian shells continued to land on Turkish soil, the private NTV television network reported amid fears of a cross-border escalation of Syria's civil war.
"We have retaliated (for Syrian shelling) and if it continues, we'll respond more strongly," Armed forces chief of staff General Necdet Ozel said in Akcakale, a border town where five civilians were killed by Syrian shelling last week.
The military chief was inspecting troops on a tour of the heavily fortified border region after a number of shells landed on Turkish soil, triggering retaliatory fire from Turkey.
Ozel said the Turkish counter-shelling targeting Syrian military positions caused serious losses, without elaborating, according to NTV.
After the deadly shelling in Akcakale last Wednesday, the Turkish parliament gave the government the green light to use military force if necessary against one-time ally Syria.
Turkey and Syria have been firing artillery and mortars across their volatile border since last week, with every single shell fired by Syrian troops met with retaliation from Turkish border units.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has led internationals calls for President Bashar Assad to quit, has said Turkey has no intention of starting a war with Syria but warned the regime in Damascus not to push Turkey's limits.
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon warned Monday that there was a growing risk that the conflict in Syria, now in its 19th month, could spill over into neighboring Turkey and Lebanon.
10 October 2012, 12:43
21
hope as i write this comment regional war happens that include all the countries in the middle east turkey iran irak syria the gulf countries and israel
10 October 2012, 13:32
10
These comments are kind of harsh ... Assad and his regime were never hand in hand with America or Israel ... We are fighting while they sre laughing at us .. Both sides throw down your arms we are muslims killing eachother .. Where were the arms when Gaza was under attack and the wall Mubarak was going to put .. ? Saudi Arabia kings born into royalty . Are you kidding .. Its just a matter of time ... How far have you advanced in the last 30 years ... Are you an uncle sam ? Send us some of that cash instead of weopans to kill eachother ... Lets build Lebanon and stop living in the past e havd to be more advanced than that ... No to killing yes to education
10 October 2012, 14:10
11
Hassan habibi, which comment do find harsh darling, hahahaha, Assad and his regime are a bunch of criminals and thieves, killing and plundering Syria for the past 50 years, he inherited it from his father because theynthink they own it, his father sold the golan heights for 500 million dollars, and never has a bullet been fired towards Israel ever since, who are you trying to fool, everyone now knows that the resistance is a big phony designed to deceive people.
10 October 2012, 14:53
00
Surely. This time Turkey will do the BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH in all caps. No more lower case blah blah blahs anymore. The party is over guys. Don't say the turkeys didn't warn you.
10 October 2012, 15:53
00
Eventually the Turks will kick the rear end of the Assad outlaws... And when this happens, I would love to see what the Iranians and their herds of Lebanese terrorists will do...
