Turkish artillery fired into Syrian territory yesterday for a fifth consecutive day, responding swiftly after the border town of Akcakale was once again struck by a mortar round.
Turkish artillery fired into Syrian territory yesterday for a fifth consecutive day, responding swiftly after the border town of Akcakale was once again struck by a mortar round
No-one was hurt when the shell, presumed to be from an Assad regime attack on a rebel-held border crossing near Tal Abyad, hit a grain silo on the Turkish side of the border near where five civilians were killed last week.
In response to that incident, Turkey promised to retaliate every time Syria struck Turkish territory, and kept to its words within minutes yesterday afternoon.
The incidents appeared to put the lie to claims that the Assad regime had promised to keep both land and air forces from striking within six miles of the frontier, reported at the end of last week. That would have allowed the creation of a buffer zone inside Syria, something which Turkey has long sought as an answer to the crisis caused by hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the fighting but which could also serve as a base for rebel operations.