Tag Archives: turkey

Turkey sends fighter jets to Syrian border

25 new jets to the Syrian border – and aggressive war talk from Turkish President Abdullah Gul. Israel and Iran must be watching very closely.

turkishjet.png

Turkey sends fighter jets to Syrian border:

Turkey has confirmed it is deploying more fighter jets to an airbase close to the border with Syria, amid artillery exchanges along its tense southeastern border with Syria.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s prime minister, addressed parliament on the issue on Tuesday, saying that his country does not want war, but that Turkey needs to be prepared for anything.

At least 25 additional F-16 fighter jets were deployed at Turkey’s Diyarbakir air base late on Monday.

Meanwhile, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the NATO secretary-general, said that Ankara can rely on the alliance, which has “all necessary plans in place to protect and defend Turkey if necessary”.

Rasmussen warned against the dangers of the conflict in Syria escalating, saying alliance member Turkey had shown commendable restraint in response to the shelling of its border area.

‘Restraint’

“I would like to commend the Turkish government for the restraint it has shown in its response to the completely unacceptable Syrian attacks,” Rasmussen said as he went into a two-day NATO defence ministers meeting.

“Obviously Turkey has a right to defend herself within international law,” he said, noting that the alliance has “all necessary plans in place to protect and to defend Turkey if necessary”. (…)

(Via Al Jazeera.. Mideast..)

Turkey strikes back after Syria shelling

Iran’s economy collapsing.. unidentified drones over Israel… Turkey attacking Syria..

This could be nothing… but a crises now might be difficult to manage..

Turkey strikes back after Syria shelling – Middle East – Al Jazeera English:

Mortar rounds launched in retaliation after Syrian shells land in border town of Akcakale.


Syrian troops on Sunday pressed their offensive to retake rebel-held areas in Homs [AFP]

Turkey’s military has fired numerous artillery rounds into Syria in immediate retaliation after a shell fired from Syria landed in the Turkish border town of Akcakale.

The Syrian shell landed in the grounds of a public building on Sunday and there were no casualties, Abdulhakim Ayhan, the mayor of Akcakale, told reporters.

“Thank God there were no victims. Turkish artillery immediately responded to the shots that came from Syria,” Ayhan said.

There was minor damage to the building, which had been previously evacuated, Turkish media said.

It was the second time that Turkey returned fire on Syrian army positions since Syrian shelling killed five civilians in Akcakale on Wednesday. (…)

Read more...

NATO puts missile shields in eastern Turkey.

Davutoglu

It's a warning system. Just in case.

Not quite sure what to make of this – but it’s making the headlines in Iran and the Middle East, and Turkey’s neighbors do not seem all that happy.

From Press TV:

Turkish foreign minister has said a NATO radar system, to be established in eastern Turkey, will not be against Iran and Russia, Press TV reports.

“Definitely, the system will not be used against Iran, Russia, or other countries,” Ahmet Davutoglu said on Wednesday.

In September, Ankara agreed to host NATO’s “early warning radar system” aimed at countering ballistic missile threats coming from outside Europe.

“It is not a missile shield; it is an early warning system. Had not we agreed to establish the system in Turkey, NATO would have established that in Bulgaria. Then only [Turkey's] Marmara region could have been monitored,” Davutoglu said.

Full story.

Mideast Update.

Depotiran

Ammo depot, Iran.

Two major headlines this week:

  • Military base explosion kills 17 outside Tehran. “Relocation of ammunition” the cause of the accident, according to  IRGC Public Relations Department Lieutenant General Ramezan Sharif.
  • Turkey raps Israel for plans of Iran attack. “We are against this military action. It will create new instability in the region,” [Turkish FM] Davutoglu said, adding that “Everybody must behave with moral principles.” On November 6, Israeli President Shimon Peres threatened that an attack against the Islamic Republic was becoming ‘more and more likely.’

More on the explosion here.