ISTANBUL — Turkey’s army has begun staging drills at the Syrian border following warnings that it would follow Kurdish dissidents across the frontier, the Anatolia news agency reported yesterday. Turkish tanks accompanied by armoured personnel carriers and surface-to-air missile defences are deployed at the Oncupinar crossing in southeastern Kilis province for the drills, the report said, adding that they would continue periodically.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said last week that it was a “given” that Turkish troops would pursue Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants inside Syria. Turkish media said the drills were a show of force against Damascus, which Ankara accuses of giving a free hand to allow Syrian Kurds to launch cross-border attacks in Turkey.
The Syrian government counters Turkish accusations with claims that Turkey is supporting “terrorists” to bring the government down, referring to the Free Syrian Army of defecting soldiers, currently based on Turkish soil near the border. Turkey is also home to more than 45,000 Syrian refugees and supports the main opposition Syrian National Council, also based in Turkey.
Last week, Turkish media reported that several areas had fallen into the hands of Syrian fighters affiliated with the PKK, publishing pictures of taunting dissident flags hanging from buildings right across the border. — AFP
