Syria slams Turkey's military operation as "flagrant aggression"
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E-mail Xinhua, February 22, 2015
Syria's Foreign Ministry slammed on Sunday Turkey's military operation in Syria, calling it a "flagrant aggression," according to the state news agency SANA.
The ministry's remarks came after Turkish troops entered into a northern Syrian area overnight to extract some 40 Turkish soldiers who had been guarding the Tomb of Suleyman Shah, which was located in the city of Aleppo in Syria near the Turkish border.
Suleyman Shah was the grandfather of Osman I, founder of the Ottoman Empire. The tomb was built at the end of the 13th century.
The ministry said the Turkish authorities had informed the Syrian consulate in Ankara about the operation, but didn't wait for the Syrian government's authorization.
Also on Sunday, a Turkish diplomat told Xinhua that Turkey issued a diplomatic note to the Syrian general consulate in Istanbul over the military operations as the embassy of the war-torn country has been suspended due to the strained relations between the two countries.
The ministry also raised questions over Ankara's possible relations with IS citing the fact that the IS militants had destroyed churches and tombs except the Turkish mausoleum.
It held the Turkish government responsible for the "repercussion of this aggression."
The relationship between Turkey and Syria has largely deteriorated during Syria's long-running conflict. Ankara has emerged as a main backer of the opposition forces and Syria repeatedly accused Turkey of serving as the main conduit for the jihadist groups into Syria.
In Ankrara, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Sunday that his country has seized a new site in Syria to relocate the revered historical tomb after it being removed from its previous location.
Earlier, Turkish media reported that Turkish soldiers were trapped by nearby IS fighters for months, and the Ankara has vowed repeatedly to defend the tomb.
According to the Turkish leader, about 100 military vehicles, including 39 tanks, and 522 soldiers were involved in the operations that started late Saturday and continued through Sunday.
After removing the valuable artifacts, the soldiers detonated the symbolic building to prevent IS militants from using it as a base, said the prime minister, adding that Turkey would hold a relocation ceremony in Syria's Esme district in a couple of days.
Turkish troops did not engage in any clashes, but one Turkish soldier was killed by accident during the evacuation, Davutoglu said.
"Turkey did not ask permission nor demanded help from any parties," the prime minister added.
Every party was aware that we would respond drastically if intervened," he said indirectly referring to IS militants in Syria.
In 1921 when Paris still ruled Syria, France and Turkey reached a deal to assign the tomb as Turkish land. Endit
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