Turkey continues to hit targets in Syria
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E-mail Xinhua, October 4, 2012
Turkey's military continued artillery strikes early Thursday on targets in the Tel Abyad district near the Syrian border, local newspaper Today's Zaman reported.
Some Syrian soldiers at a military post in Tel Abyad were killed, the paper said on its website, without giving the exact number of deaths.
Turkey started the military strikes on Syrian targets on Wednesday after mortar shells from the Syrian side killed five people in Akcakale, a border town in Turkey's southeastern Sanliurfa province.
"Our armed forces on border region have given the required response in line with the rule of engagements. Targets in Syria, which were detected by radar, were shot by shelling," the Turkish prime ministry said in a statement.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has contacted NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and UN-Arab League joint special envoy on Syria, Lakhdar Brahim, according to the statement.
"Turkey will never remain unresponsive against these sorts of provocations of Syrian regime within the framework of rules of engagement and international law," the statement added.
Three or four Syrian artillery shells landed in Akcakale, in Sanliurfa province bordering Syria, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported, citing Sanliurfa Governor Celalettin Guvenc.
One of the artillery shells hit a house, killing a mother and her four children. "In the incident, 10 people were wounded, including police officers. Two of those wounded are in serious condition," Guvenc said.
"We have evacuated 30 residents in the region close to the Turkish-Syrian border, and schools went on a recess as a precaution," Guvenc added.
NATO spokesperson Oana Lungescu said on Wednesday that NATO was closely monitoring the situation in southeastern Turkey. Turkey is a member of the alliance.
Ankara has repeatedly complained about the spillover of Syrian artillery and gun fire into its territory. Last week, the Turkish government signaled that it would take action if mortar strikes were repeated on its territory from Syria.
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