Syrian civil war (22 Viewers)
- Thread starter ReBeL
- Start date
That would be no different from using artillery shells and mortars. After all the regime has placed itself into a stance of civil war and well, at this point the opponents on the other side despite their more relatively righteous cause, are hardly civilians and thus are valid targets. The Syrian Army has been bombing built areas for a ages now. That they are using sticks rather than stones changes nothing really. The situation is as horrible as it already was.
Syrian opposition fighters survive regime onslaught in Aleppo
29 July 2012 / AP, BEIRUT
The Syrian government launched an offensive Saturday to retake rebel-held neighborhoods in the nation's commercial hub of Aleppo, unleashing artillery, tanks and helicopter gunships against poorly armed opposition fighters.
Yet after a day of fighting, the rag-tag rebel forces remained in control of their neighborhoods in Syria's largest city, said activists, suggesting they had successfully fought off the government's initial assault.
The international community has raised an outcry about a possible massacre in this city of 3 million but acknowledged there was little they could do to stop the bloodshed. The foreign minister of Russia, a powerful ally of Syria, said it was "simply unrealistic" for the Syrian regime to cede control.
The state-controlled al-Watan newspaper celebrated the assault with a banner headline proclaiming the fight for Aleppo "the mother of all battles."
The rebels are estimated to control between a third and a half of the neighborhoods in this sprawling city, especially a cluster in the northeast around Sakhour neighborhood and in the southwest.
They began their attempt to wrest this key city from the government's control a week ago. About 162 people have been killed, mostly civilians, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which does not include soldiers in its toll. Some 19,000 people have been killed since the uprising began in March 2011, estimated the group.
For Saturday, activists estimate that at least two dozen have died so far in the day's fighting.
Local activist Mohammed Saeed said the rebels have managed to keep the regime's tanks at bay so far with rocket-propelled grenades.
"The army hasn't been able to take any neighborhoods yet, there are too many from the Free Syrian Army," Saeed said, referring to the rebels.
He estimated that about 1,000 fighters had poured into the city in the past few days to take on the Syrian army, which had been massing forces around the city ahead of its attack.
By the end of Saturday, according to the Observatory, the government appeared to have pulled back from its ground offensive and was resuming its bombardment of various neighborhoods with artillery. Attack helicopters pounded rebel positions.
There were few details about the attack in the state press, although it issued a long list of victories across the country against the "terrorists," as the rebels are referred to, a sign of widespread fighting.
The international community has expressed growing concern that there could be major bloodshed if Syrian troops retake Aleppo. But Western nations and their allies have found themselves powerless to prevent the situation from deteriorating despite a series of diplomatic efforts, including a cease-fire agreement that never took effect.
Kofi Annan, who brokered the agreement, expressed concern Saturday about the weapons buildup in Aleppo. "I remind the parties to the conflict of their obligations under international humanitarian law and human rights law, and urge them to exercise restraint and avoid any further bloodshed."
In a statement, the Arab League expressed "deep dissatisfaction for the Syrian regime's acts of oppression," particularly the use of heavy weapons against its own people. It urged Syria "to stop the cycle of killing and violence and lift the siege off the Syrian neighborhoods under attack."
The group's deputy chief, Ahmed Ben Hali added that the Arab states were preparing a resolution in front of the United Nations General Assembly calling for the creation of safe havens to protect civilians and to apply further sanctions on the regime.
Measures passed in the General Assembly are largely symbolic and not binding. The West and its Arab allies have been unable to pass effective resolutions in the more powerful Security Council. China, and especially Syria's close ally, Russia, have vetoed any attempt to sanction Bashar Assad's regime.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday called the bloodshed in Aleppo a tragedy, but asked what else could the government do against the rebellion.
"Now the city of Aleppo is occupied by the armed opposition; another tragedy is imminent there," he said. "How can it be hoped that in such a situation the government will simply give in, say 'Okay, I wasn't right, overthrow me, change the regime - it's simply unrealistic."
Russia has been a key source of support for Syria, although Moscow officials in recent months have said they are simply taking a more even-handed approach while the West offers support to the rebels.
French President Francois Hollande even chided Russia and China on Saturday, asking them to "take into consideration ... that it will be chaos and civil war if at some moment Assad isn't stopped."
It's been a difficult two weeks for the Syrian government, with assaults on its two main cities, a bomb that killed four top security officials and a string of high-profile defections.
The country's military apparatus, though, has remained intact and continues to crush the opposition's remnants in Damascus and its outskirts.
If they really try to make a stand in Aleppo, the rebels risk being annihilated by superior firepower, and may instead withdraw to preserve their forces as they did in Damascus last week.
Italy welcomed Friday's release of two Italian electrical engineers, who had been captured eight days ago by militants.
Domenico Tedeschi and Oriano Cantani, who worked on power plants, told reporters in Damascus that they had been kidnapped by five or six masked men who intercepted their car as they drove to the airport. They were later rescued by the Syrian army.
Amid the fighting, three Syrian athletes took part in the first day of competition in London's Olympic games in swimming, shooting and boxing.
All were defeated, including Wessam Slama, a bantam weight boxer who was one of Syria's better medal hopes.
The team's leader, Maher Khayata, whose family is currently trapped by the fighting in Aleppo, said their thoughts were always on the situation at home.
"We would like to return with an Olympic medal," he told The Associated Press, "but what we want more is to return to our homeland with the news that fighting has stopped and nobody is being killed anymore."
29 July 2012 / AP, BEIRUT
The Syrian government launched an offensive Saturday to retake rebel-held neighborhoods in the nation's commercial hub of Aleppo, unleashing artillery, tanks and helicopter gunships against poorly armed opposition fighters.
Yet after a day of fighting, the rag-tag rebel forces remained in control of their neighborhoods in Syria's largest city, said activists, suggesting they had successfully fought off the government's initial assault.
The international community has raised an outcry about a possible massacre in this city of 3 million but acknowledged there was little they could do to stop the bloodshed. The foreign minister of Russia, a powerful ally of Syria, said it was "simply unrealistic" for the Syrian regime to cede control.
The state-controlled al-Watan newspaper celebrated the assault with a banner headline proclaiming the fight for Aleppo "the mother of all battles."
The rebels are estimated to control between a third and a half of the neighborhoods in this sprawling city, especially a cluster in the northeast around Sakhour neighborhood and in the southwest.
They began their attempt to wrest this key city from the government's control a week ago. About 162 people have been killed, mostly civilians, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which does not include soldiers in its toll. Some 19,000 people have been killed since the uprising began in March 2011, estimated the group.
For Saturday, activists estimate that at least two dozen have died so far in the day's fighting.
Local activist Mohammed Saeed said the rebels have managed to keep the regime's tanks at bay so far with rocket-propelled grenades.
"The army hasn't been able to take any neighborhoods yet, there are too many from the Free Syrian Army," Saeed said, referring to the rebels.
He estimated that about 1,000 fighters had poured into the city in the past few days to take on the Syrian army, which had been massing forces around the city ahead of its attack.
By the end of Saturday, according to the Observatory, the government appeared to have pulled back from its ground offensive and was resuming its bombardment of various neighborhoods with artillery. Attack helicopters pounded rebel positions.
There were few details about the attack in the state press, although it issued a long list of victories across the country against the "terrorists," as the rebels are referred to, a sign of widespread fighting.
The international community has expressed growing concern that there could be major bloodshed if Syrian troops retake Aleppo. But Western nations and their allies have found themselves powerless to prevent the situation from deteriorating despite a series of diplomatic efforts, including a cease-fire agreement that never took effect.
Kofi Annan, who brokered the agreement, expressed concern Saturday about the weapons buildup in Aleppo. "I remind the parties to the conflict of their obligations under international humanitarian law and human rights law, and urge them to exercise restraint and avoid any further bloodshed."
In a statement, the Arab League expressed "deep dissatisfaction for the Syrian regime's acts of oppression," particularly the use of heavy weapons against its own people. It urged Syria "to stop the cycle of killing and violence and lift the siege off the Syrian neighborhoods under attack."
The group's deputy chief, Ahmed Ben Hali added that the Arab states were preparing a resolution in front of the United Nations General Assembly calling for the creation of safe havens to protect civilians and to apply further sanctions on the regime.
Measures passed in the General Assembly are largely symbolic and not binding. The West and its Arab allies have been unable to pass effective resolutions in the more powerful Security Council. China, and especially Syria's close ally, Russia, have vetoed any attempt to sanction Bashar Assad's regime.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Saturday called the bloodshed in Aleppo a tragedy, but asked what else could the government do against the rebellion.
"Now the city of Aleppo is occupied by the armed opposition; another tragedy is imminent there," he said. "How can it be hoped that in such a situation the government will simply give in, say 'Okay, I wasn't right, overthrow me, change the regime - it's simply unrealistic."
Russia has been a key source of support for Syria, although Moscow officials in recent months have said they are simply taking a more even-handed approach while the West offers support to the rebels.
French President Francois Hollande even chided Russia and China on Saturday, asking them to "take into consideration ... that it will be chaos and civil war if at some moment Assad isn't stopped."
It's been a difficult two weeks for the Syrian government, with assaults on its two main cities, a bomb that killed four top security officials and a string of high-profile defections.
The country's military apparatus, though, has remained intact and continues to crush the opposition's remnants in Damascus and its outskirts.
If they really try to make a stand in Aleppo, the rebels risk being annihilated by superior firepower, and may instead withdraw to preserve their forces as they did in Damascus last week.
Italy welcomed Friday's release of two Italian electrical engineers, who had been captured eight days ago by militants.
Domenico Tedeschi and Oriano Cantani, who worked on power plants, told reporters in Damascus that they had been kidnapped by five or six masked men who intercepted their car as they drove to the airport. They were later rescued by the Syrian army.
Amid the fighting, three Syrian athletes took part in the first day of competition in London's Olympic games in swimming, shooting and boxing.
All were defeated, including Wessam Slama, a bantam weight boxer who was one of Syria's better medal hopes.
The team's leader, Maher Khayata, whose family is currently trapped by the fighting in Aleppo, said their thoughts were always on the situation at home.
"We would like to return with an Olympic medal," he told The Associated Press, "but what we want more is to return to our homeland with the news that fighting has stopped and nobody is being killed anymore."
Fighting rages as Syria troops assail rebels in Aleppo
By Pierre Torres | AFP – 2 hrs 3 mins ago
Troops backed by helicopters pushed an offensive against rebels in Syria's commercial capital Aleppo into a second straight day on Sunday, sparking fierce fighting and sending civilians fleeing.
The opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) accused the government of preparing to carry out "massacres" in the northern city and pleaded for heavy weapons to enable rebels to meet the onslaught.
It also urged the UN to hold an emergency session to discuss ways to protect civilians caught up in the conflict.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem, on a surprise visit to key ally Iran, said the rebels "will definitely be defeated" in Aleppo, even as a Free Syrian Army (FSA) commander boasted the city would become a "graveyard" for the army's tanks.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Sunday's fighting was focused around the southwestern neighbourhood of Salaheddin, where rebels repulsed a ground assault on Saturday.
"There are clashes on the edges of... Salaheddin" which regime forces were pounding with helicopter gunships, the Observatory's Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
Abdel Rahman described the situation in Aleppo as "a full-scale street war," with fighting also in the neighbourhoods of Arkub, Bab al-Hadid, Fardoss, Jisr al-Hajj, Sukari, Zahraa, Zebdiyeh, at the Al-Hindrat Palestinian refugee camp, and Bustan al-Qasr district which was being pounded by helicopter gunships.
The Britain-based Observatory said that "the sound of heavy machinegun fire and explosions" could be heard in Salaheddin late on Sunday but gave no further details.
Rebels broke into a juvenile detention centre "in order to set the prisoners free," he said, adding displaced families were having difficulty finding refuge "because nowhere is safe any more."
After massing for two days, troops backed by tanks and helicopters on Saturday launched a ground assault on Salaheddin, where rebels concentrated their forces when they seized much of Aleppo on July 20.
Both sides claimed to have made advances, but an AFP correspondent reported rebels had largely repulsed the army when it launched its first onslaught.
Civilians in the city of some 2.5 million crowded into basements seeking refuge from the intense bombardment by artillery and helicopters, the correspondent said.
Colonel Abdel Jabbar al-Oqaidi, FSA commander for Aleppo, said the rebels had inflicted heavy losses on the army in Salaheddin but that there had been many civilian deaths.
"We have destroyed eight tanks and some armoured vehicles and killed more than 100 soldiers," he said.
"Aleppo will be the graveyard of the tanks of the Syrian army," Oqaidi told AFP in an interview conducted at an isolated farmhouse surrounded by olive groves near the city.
"We ask the West for a no-fly zone" in order to prevent aerial raids by Assad's forces, he said.
The colonel said his men were positioned across Aleppo and would not withdraw as they had when they came under intense fire from regime troops in Damascus earlier this month.
"There is no strategic withdrawal of the Free Syrian Army. We await the attack," he said, while refusing to reveal how many rebels are fighting in Aleppo.
"We expect (the army) to commit a very great slaughter, and we urge the international community to intervene to prevent these crimes," the colonel said.
The Observatory reported that by late afternoon seven people were killed in Aleppo, contributing to a nationwide death toll of 66: 25 civilians, 19 troops and 22 rebels.
In Tehran, Muallem vowed regime forces would crush the rebels in Aleppo.
"We believe that all the anti-Syrian forces have gathered in Aleppo to fight the government... and they will definitely be defeated," he told a joint news conference with Tehran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi.
Muallem also met President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who told him that he hoped Syria's government would restore "stability" in the country quickly, Iran's ISNA news agency said.
Syria's Muslim Brotherhood denounced Iran and Russia, saying the powerful allies of the embattled Assad regime were "drowning in the blood of the Syrian people."
As the rebels faced the superior firepower of Assad's regime, SNC chief Abdel Basset Sayda called on foreign governments to provide them with heavy weapons.
"We want weapons that would stop tanks and jet fighters," Sayda said after talks in Abu Dhabi.
The SNC also called on the Security Council to hold an emergency session on the situation in Aleppo, Damascus and Homs and urged it to "take action to provide civilians with the needed protection from brutal bombing campaigns."
Peace envoy Kofi Annan urged both sides to hold back, saying only a political solution could end a conflict that rights activists say has killed more than 20,000 people since the uprising erupted in March 2011.
"The escalation of the military build-up in Aleppo and the surrounding area is further evidence of the need for the international community to come together to persuade the parties that only a political transition, leading to a political settlement, will resolve this crisis," he said.
Newest Israeli tourist attraction: Watching Syrians fight
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ne...ight-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=26305&NewsCatID=352
Dozens of Israelis are flocking to vantage points in the Golan Heights to observe the ongoing clashes in neighboring Syria, the Times of Israel reported on its website yesterday.
The recent fad was reportedly sparked – though unintentionally – by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak after he visited the Golan Heights to personally witness the battles raging in the country’s war-torn neighbor.
A steadily increasing stream of Israelis, carrying binoculars and cameras, have been visiting the Golan Heights in the days that followed Barak's visit. The war-watchers hoped to catch a glimpse of the fighting in Syria, the report said, but it was a rare occasion. The visitors had to content themselves with listening to exchanges of gunfire and explosions, which were more common.
Tour group operators reportedly said they would begin including the Syrian unrest on their tour itineraries.
Israeli security forces reportedly said they were "doing their best" to keep the sightseers away from sensitive army installations along the border between the two countries.
vultures
By Pierre Torres | AFP – 2 hrs 3 mins ago
Troops backed by helicopters pushed an offensive against rebels in Syria's commercial capital Aleppo into a second straight day on Sunday, sparking fierce fighting and sending civilians fleeing.
The opposition Syrian National Council (SNC) accused the government of preparing to carry out "massacres" in the northern city and pleaded for heavy weapons to enable rebels to meet the onslaught.
It also urged the UN to hold an emergency session to discuss ways to protect civilians caught up in the conflict.
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem, on a surprise visit to key ally Iran, said the rebels "will definitely be defeated" in Aleppo, even as a Free Syrian Army (FSA) commander boasted the city would become a "graveyard" for the army's tanks.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said Sunday's fighting was focused around the southwestern neighbourhood of Salaheddin, where rebels repulsed a ground assault on Saturday.
"There are clashes on the edges of... Salaheddin" which regime forces were pounding with helicopter gunships, the Observatory's Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.
Abdel Rahman described the situation in Aleppo as "a full-scale street war," with fighting also in the neighbourhoods of Arkub, Bab al-Hadid, Fardoss, Jisr al-Hajj, Sukari, Zahraa, Zebdiyeh, at the Al-Hindrat Palestinian refugee camp, and Bustan al-Qasr district which was being pounded by helicopter gunships.
The Britain-based Observatory said that "the sound of heavy machinegun fire and explosions" could be heard in Salaheddin late on Sunday but gave no further details.
Rebels broke into a juvenile detention centre "in order to set the prisoners free," he said, adding displaced families were having difficulty finding refuge "because nowhere is safe any more."
After massing for two days, troops backed by tanks and helicopters on Saturday launched a ground assault on Salaheddin, where rebels concentrated their forces when they seized much of Aleppo on July 20.
Both sides claimed to have made advances, but an AFP correspondent reported rebels had largely repulsed the army when it launched its first onslaught.
Civilians in the city of some 2.5 million crowded into basements seeking refuge from the intense bombardment by artillery and helicopters, the correspondent said.
Colonel Abdel Jabbar al-Oqaidi, FSA commander for Aleppo, said the rebels had inflicted heavy losses on the army in Salaheddin but that there had been many civilian deaths.
"We have destroyed eight tanks and some armoured vehicles and killed more than 100 soldiers," he said.
"Aleppo will be the graveyard of the tanks of the Syrian army," Oqaidi told AFP in an interview conducted at an isolated farmhouse surrounded by olive groves near the city.
"We ask the West for a no-fly zone" in order to prevent aerial raids by Assad's forces, he said.
The colonel said his men were positioned across Aleppo and would not withdraw as they had when they came under intense fire from regime troops in Damascus earlier this month.
"There is no strategic withdrawal of the Free Syrian Army. We await the attack," he said, while refusing to reveal how many rebels are fighting in Aleppo.
"We expect (the army) to commit a very great slaughter, and we urge the international community to intervene to prevent these crimes," the colonel said.
The Observatory reported that by late afternoon seven people were killed in Aleppo, contributing to a nationwide death toll of 66: 25 civilians, 19 troops and 22 rebels.
In Tehran, Muallem vowed regime forces would crush the rebels in Aleppo.
"We believe that all the anti-Syrian forces have gathered in Aleppo to fight the government... and they will definitely be defeated," he told a joint news conference with Tehran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi.
Muallem also met President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who told him that he hoped Syria's government would restore "stability" in the country quickly, Iran's ISNA news agency said.
Syria's Muslim Brotherhood denounced Iran and Russia, saying the powerful allies of the embattled Assad regime were "drowning in the blood of the Syrian people."
As the rebels faced the superior firepower of Assad's regime, SNC chief Abdel Basset Sayda called on foreign governments to provide them with heavy weapons.
"We want weapons that would stop tanks and jet fighters," Sayda said after talks in Abu Dhabi.
The SNC also called on the Security Council to hold an emergency session on the situation in Aleppo, Damascus and Homs and urged it to "take action to provide civilians with the needed protection from brutal bombing campaigns."
Peace envoy Kofi Annan urged both sides to hold back, saying only a political solution could end a conflict that rights activists say has killed more than 20,000 people since the uprising erupted in March 2011.
"The escalation of the military build-up in Aleppo and the surrounding area is further evidence of the need for the international community to come together to persuade the parties that only a political transition, leading to a political settlement, will resolve this crisis," he said.
Newest Israeli tourist attraction: Watching Syrians fight
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/ne...ight-.aspx?pageID=238&nID=26305&NewsCatID=352
Dozens of Israelis are flocking to vantage points in the Golan Heights to observe the ongoing clashes in neighboring Syria, the Times of Israel reported on its website yesterday.
The recent fad was reportedly sparked – though unintentionally – by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak after he visited the Golan Heights to personally witness the battles raging in the country’s war-torn neighbor.
A steadily increasing stream of Israelis, carrying binoculars and cameras, have been visiting the Golan Heights in the days that followed Barak's visit. The war-watchers hoped to catch a glimpse of the fighting in Syria, the report said, but it was a rare occasion. The visitors had to content themselves with listening to exchanges of gunfire and explosions, which were more common.
Tour group operators reportedly said they would begin including the Syrian unrest on their tour itineraries.
Israeli security forces reportedly said they were "doing their best" to keep the sightseers away from sensitive army installations along the border between the two countries.
vultures
Opposition turns seized tank against Assad forces in Aleppo
2 August 2012 / REUTERS, ALEPPO
Syrian opposition forces turned the gun of a captured tank against government forces on Thursday, shelling a military airbase expected to be used as a staging post for army reinforcements in the battle for Aleppo.
President Bashar al-Assad's troops meanwhile bombarded the strategic Salaheddine district in Aleppo itself with tank and artillery fire while the opposition forces tried to consolidate their hold on areas they have seized.
In the capital Damascus, troops overran a suburb on Wednesday and killed at least 35 people, mostly unarmed civilians, residents and activist organizations said.
The fighting for Syria's two biggest cities highlights the country's rapid slide into full-scale civil war 17 months on from the peaceful street protests that marked the start of the anti-Assad uprising.
World powers have watched with mounting concern as diplomatic efforts to find a negotiated solution have faltered and violence that has already claimed an estimated 18,000 lives worsens.
More than 180 people were killed in Syria on Wednesday, 133 of them civilians and 45 of them members of Assad's forces, according to the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The opposition's morale was boosted when they turned a government tank's gun on the Menakh airbase 35 kilometers (25 miles) north of Aleppo -- a possible staging post for army reinforcements.
“We hit the airport using a tank that we captured from the Assad army. We attacked the airport a few times but we have decided to retreat at this time,” an opposition fighter named Abu Ali told Reuters.
The pro-opposition Observatory said government forces at the airbase had used artillery and rocket launchers to bombard the town of Tel Rifaat, which lies between the airbase and Aleppo, Syria's commercial centre.
Reuters correspondents heard heavy weapons fire on Thursday morning from Salaheddine in southwest Aleppo, a gateway to the city of 2.5 million people that has been fought over for the past week.
Heavily armed government troops are trying to drive a force of a few thousand opposition fighters from the city in battle whose outcome could be a turning point in the conflict.
Although government forces have made concerted efforts to take Salaheddine, a full-out assault on the city as a whole has yet to take place.
Mobile phone connections have been cut since Wednesday evening, leading to speculation among residents that an increase in military action might be imminent.
The opposition forces are consolidating areas they control in Aleppo, attacking police posts and minor military installations with some success. They claim to have seized three police stations this week.
New atrocities alleged
In Damascus, still a government stronghold but a scene of combat in the past two weeks, government troops faced new accusations of atrocities after they overran a suburb on Wednesday.
“When the streets were clear we found the bodies of at least 35 men,” a resident, who gave his name as Fares, said by phone from Jdeidet Artouz, southwest of Damascus.
“Almost all of them were executed with bullets to their face, head and neck in homes, gardens and basements.”
Syrian state television said “dozens of terrorists and mercenaries surrendered or were killed” when the army raided Jdeidet Artouz and its surrounding farmlands.
In a rallying cry to his troops on Wednesday, Assad said their battle against the opposition would decide Syria's fate.
But his call-to-arms, in a written statement, gave no clues to his whereabouts two weeks after a bomb attack on his inner circle.
Assad, who succeeded his late father Hafez 11 years ago to perpetuate the family's rule of Syria, has not spoken in public since the bombing in Damascus killed four of his close security aides, although he has appeared in recorded clips on television.
His low public profile has fuelled speculation about his grip on power since the attack in which his brother-in-law died.
Food running short
The fighting in Salaheddine district, part of an opposition-held arc stretching to the northeast of Aleppo, has left neither side in full control.
On Al-Sharqeya Street, residents and shop owners looked in awe at the damage. Some searched through what was left of their buildings - huge piles of concrete and twisted metal.
“I saw death before my eyes,” said Abu Ahmed as he abandoned his home. “I was hiding in the alleyway of my building when I heard the whiz of the artillery. Look at my street now.”
They said the damage was caused by helicopter fire targeting an opposition brigade based in a school. It missed the school and hit the residential buildings instead.
“This dog Assad and his men are so blind they can't even target a brigade properly,” said Abu Ahmed, waving a plastic bag with his meager belongings inside.
State television said on Wednesday the army was pursuing remaining “terrorists” in one Aleppo district and had killed several, including foreign Arab fighters.
Some foreign fighters, including militant Islamists, have joined the battle against Assad, who accuses outside powers of financing and arming the insurgents.
Aleppo had long stayed aloof from the uprising but many of its 2.5 million residents are now caught up in battle zones, facing shortages of food, fuel, water and cooking gas. Thousands have fled and hospitals and makeshift clinics can barely cope with casualties after more than a week of combat.
2 August 2012 / REUTERS, ALEPPO
Syrian opposition forces turned the gun of a captured tank against government forces on Thursday, shelling a military airbase expected to be used as a staging post for army reinforcements in the battle for Aleppo.
President Bashar al-Assad's troops meanwhile bombarded the strategic Salaheddine district in Aleppo itself with tank and artillery fire while the opposition forces tried to consolidate their hold on areas they have seized.
In the capital Damascus, troops overran a suburb on Wednesday and killed at least 35 people, mostly unarmed civilians, residents and activist organizations said.
The fighting for Syria's two biggest cities highlights the country's rapid slide into full-scale civil war 17 months on from the peaceful street protests that marked the start of the anti-Assad uprising.
World powers have watched with mounting concern as diplomatic efforts to find a negotiated solution have faltered and violence that has already claimed an estimated 18,000 lives worsens.
More than 180 people were killed in Syria on Wednesday, 133 of them civilians and 45 of them members of Assad's forces, according to the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The opposition's morale was boosted when they turned a government tank's gun on the Menakh airbase 35 kilometers (25 miles) north of Aleppo -- a possible staging post for army reinforcements.
“We hit the airport using a tank that we captured from the Assad army. We attacked the airport a few times but we have decided to retreat at this time,” an opposition fighter named Abu Ali told Reuters.
The pro-opposition Observatory said government forces at the airbase had used artillery and rocket launchers to bombard the town of Tel Rifaat, which lies between the airbase and Aleppo, Syria's commercial centre.
Reuters correspondents heard heavy weapons fire on Thursday morning from Salaheddine in southwest Aleppo, a gateway to the city of 2.5 million people that has been fought over for the past week.
Heavily armed government troops are trying to drive a force of a few thousand opposition fighters from the city in battle whose outcome could be a turning point in the conflict.
Although government forces have made concerted efforts to take Salaheddine, a full-out assault on the city as a whole has yet to take place.
Mobile phone connections have been cut since Wednesday evening, leading to speculation among residents that an increase in military action might be imminent.
The opposition forces are consolidating areas they control in Aleppo, attacking police posts and minor military installations with some success. They claim to have seized three police stations this week.
New atrocities alleged
In Damascus, still a government stronghold but a scene of combat in the past two weeks, government troops faced new accusations of atrocities after they overran a suburb on Wednesday.
“When the streets were clear we found the bodies of at least 35 men,” a resident, who gave his name as Fares, said by phone from Jdeidet Artouz, southwest of Damascus.
“Almost all of them were executed with bullets to their face, head and neck in homes, gardens and basements.”
Syrian state television said “dozens of terrorists and mercenaries surrendered or were killed” when the army raided Jdeidet Artouz and its surrounding farmlands.
In a rallying cry to his troops on Wednesday, Assad said their battle against the opposition would decide Syria's fate.
But his call-to-arms, in a written statement, gave no clues to his whereabouts two weeks after a bomb attack on his inner circle.
Assad, who succeeded his late father Hafez 11 years ago to perpetuate the family's rule of Syria, has not spoken in public since the bombing in Damascus killed four of his close security aides, although he has appeared in recorded clips on television.
His low public profile has fuelled speculation about his grip on power since the attack in which his brother-in-law died.
Food running short
The fighting in Salaheddine district, part of an opposition-held arc stretching to the northeast of Aleppo, has left neither side in full control.
On Al-Sharqeya Street, residents and shop owners looked in awe at the damage. Some searched through what was left of their buildings - huge piles of concrete and twisted metal.
“I saw death before my eyes,” said Abu Ahmed as he abandoned his home. “I was hiding in the alleyway of my building when I heard the whiz of the artillery. Look at my street now.”
They said the damage was caused by helicopter fire targeting an opposition brigade based in a school. It missed the school and hit the residential buildings instead.
“This dog Assad and his men are so blind they can't even target a brigade properly,” said Abu Ahmed, waving a plastic bag with his meager belongings inside.
State television said on Wednesday the army was pursuing remaining “terrorists” in one Aleppo district and had killed several, including foreign Arab fighters.
Some foreign fighters, including militant Islamists, have joined the battle against Assad, who accuses outside powers of financing and arming the insurgents.
Aleppo had long stayed aloof from the uprising but many of its 2.5 million residents are now caught up in battle zones, facing shortages of food, fuel, water and cooking gas. Thousands have fled and hospitals and makeshift clinics can barely cope with casualties after more than a week of combat.
yet another massacre
Rights group: Over 40 killed in Syria's Azaz airstrike
16 August 2012 / AP, BEIRUT
Syrian government airstrikes on a residential neighborhood in a rebel-held town killed over 40 people and wounded at least 100 others including many women and children, international watchdog Human Rights Watch said Thursday.
The strikes on the town of Azaz in northern Syria a day earlier leveled the better part of a poor neighborhood and sent panicked civilians fleeing for cover. So many were wounded that the local hospital locked its doors, directing residents to drive to the nearby Turkish border so the injured could be treated on the other side.
Reporters from The Associated Press saw nine bodies in the bombings' immediate aftermath, including a baby.
Human Rights Watch, which investigated the site of the bombing two hours after the attack, put the number at over 40.
"This horrific attack killed and wounded scores of civilians and destroyed a whole residential block," said Anna Neistat, the group's acting emergencies director. "Yet again, Syrian government forces attacked with callous disregard for civilian life."
HRW said two opposition Free Syrian Army facilities in the vicinity of the attack might have been targets of the Syrian aircraft.
One was the headquarters of the local Free Syrian Army brigade two streets away from the block that was hit. The other was a detention facility where the Free Syrian Army held "security detainees" - government military personnel and members of pro-government shabiha militia. Neither of these facilities was damaged in the attack.
The bombing of Azaz, some 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Aleppo, shattered the sense of control rebels have sought to project since they took the area from President Bashar Assad's army last month. Azaz is also the town where rebels have been holding 11 Lebanese Shiites they captured in May. On Wednesday, Lebanese media reported conflicting reports on their fate, but it was unclear whether they had been affected by the bombing.
In recent months, rebels have pushed the Syrian army from a number of towns in a swath of territory south of the Turkish border and north of Aleppo, Syria's largest city. About a dozen destroyed tanks and army vehicles are scattered around Azaz, left over from those battles.
As the Assad regime's grip on the ground slips, however, it is increasingly targeting rebel areas with attack helicopters and fighter jets - weapons the rebels can't challenge.
Also on Thursday, state-run television said government troops freed three journalists who were seized last week by rebels while covering violence in a Damascus suburb.
Syria TV says the three journalists from the pro-regime TV station Al-Ikhbariya were freed in a "qualitative operation" Thursday in the town of al-Tal just north of the capital. It did not provide further details.
Rights group: Over 40 killed in Syria's Azaz airstrike
16 August 2012 / AP, BEIRUT
Syrian government airstrikes on a residential neighborhood in a rebel-held town killed over 40 people and wounded at least 100 others including many women and children, international watchdog Human Rights Watch said Thursday.
The strikes on the town of Azaz in northern Syria a day earlier leveled the better part of a poor neighborhood and sent panicked civilians fleeing for cover. So many were wounded that the local hospital locked its doors, directing residents to drive to the nearby Turkish border so the injured could be treated on the other side.
Reporters from The Associated Press saw nine bodies in the bombings' immediate aftermath, including a baby.
Human Rights Watch, which investigated the site of the bombing two hours after the attack, put the number at over 40.
"This horrific attack killed and wounded scores of civilians and destroyed a whole residential block," said Anna Neistat, the group's acting emergencies director. "Yet again, Syrian government forces attacked with callous disregard for civilian life."
HRW said two opposition Free Syrian Army facilities in the vicinity of the attack might have been targets of the Syrian aircraft.
One was the headquarters of the local Free Syrian Army brigade two streets away from the block that was hit. The other was a detention facility where the Free Syrian Army held "security detainees" - government military personnel and members of pro-government shabiha militia. Neither of these facilities was damaged in the attack.
The bombing of Azaz, some 30 miles (50 kilometers) north of Aleppo, shattered the sense of control rebels have sought to project since they took the area from President Bashar Assad's army last month. Azaz is also the town where rebels have been holding 11 Lebanese Shiites they captured in May. On Wednesday, Lebanese media reported conflicting reports on their fate, but it was unclear whether they had been affected by the bombing.
In recent months, rebels have pushed the Syrian army from a number of towns in a swath of territory south of the Turkish border and north of Aleppo, Syria's largest city. About a dozen destroyed tanks and army vehicles are scattered around Azaz, left over from those battles.
As the Assad regime's grip on the ground slips, however, it is increasingly targeting rebel areas with attack helicopters and fighter jets - weapons the rebels can't challenge.
Also on Thursday, state-run television said government troops freed three journalists who were seized last week by rebels while covering violence in a Damascus suburb.
Syria TV says the three journalists from the pro-regime TV station Al-Ikhbariya were freed in a "qualitative operation" Thursday in the town of al-Tal just north of the capital. It did not provide further details.
Mortar bomb fired from Syria hits Turkey, three injured
28 September 2012 / TODAYSZAMAN.COM WITH REUTERS,
A mortar bomb fired from Syria hit southeastern Turkey on Friday, slightly injuring three people and damaging homes and workplaces in the Akçakale border area, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
Turkish Foreign Ministry officials said they had no immediate information. The conflict in neighboring Syria has affected border areas in the past when stray bullets have flown into Turkish territory.
Last week, three other Turkish nationals were injured in the same border town after fierce clashes broke out between Syrian opposition fighters and regime forces.
In April, Turkey officially reported an incident to the United Nations in which at least five people, including two Turkish officials, were wounded when cross-border gunfire hit a Syrian refugee camp in Kilis, further west along the frontier.
Turkey beefed up its troop presence and air defenses along its 900-km border after Syria shot down a Turkish reconnaissance jet in June.
At the time, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the military's rules of engagement had been changed and that any Syrian element approaching Turkey's border and deemed a threat would be treated as a military target.
Davutoğlu says war a risk worth taking for Syria safe zones
28 September 2012 / TODAY'S ZAMAN, ANKARA
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, taking part in meetings on the sidelines of the 67th UN General Assembly in New York, called for the establishment of a safe zone in Syria despite the possibility that it could trigger a war, saying failure to take decisive measures now will lead to more risks in the future.
"If you don't take certain measures or certain steps on time, in the future you will be facing more risks. Unfortunately, since there was no clear message and decisive position of the international community at the early stages of the crisis, the Syrian regime felt confident enough to continue attacks,” said Davutoğlu.
Setting up a safe haven is one of the most debated issues among Turkish government officials. Turkish officials say the influx of hundreds of thousands of Syrians into Turkey would be the precondition for Turkey to establish a safe zone; similar to the buffer zone it established two decades ago to contain the mass migration of Kurdish Peshmerga from Iraq.
Speaking to the BBC on Thursday, Davutoğlu said that the establishment of a zone would also send a signal to the Syrian regime to stop its attacks against civilians. He added that risk was worth taking to get humanitarian aid to the huge numbers of displaced people inside Syria.
Late on Friday, Davutoğlu denied he called for the establishment of the safe zone in Syria despite the possibility that it could trigger a war.
Davutoğlu told state-run Anatolia news agency that he didn’t say going to war is a risk worth taking.
‘Conflict in Syria a huge security threat to Turkey'
Davutoğlu stated that the conflict in Syria, which has created a power vacuum on the Syrian side of the Turkish-Syrian border, is a huge security threat to Turkey, warning some terrorist groups may benefit from the power vacuum.
“It is a huge security threat. Why? Because we have a 911 kilometer-long border, and now there is a power vacuum on this border,” said the foreign minister in a report by the Anatolian Agency.
Speaking to US television channel PBS on Thursday, Davutoğlu said that some terrorist groups, including the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and al-Qaeda, may try to use the power vacuum or the security issue for their own interests in order to create instability.
Davutoğlu emphasized in July that Ankara would not allow terrorist groups like the PKK or al-Qaeda to establish a presence in war-torn Syria near the Turkish border.
“Even today, several terrorist activities inside Turkey are using this power vacuum. These terrorist groups are using this type of power vacuum for their own interests," said Davutoğlu.
Davutoğlu warned that Turkey has the right to take any step in case of a terror threat or a risk against Turkey from Syrian border.
Turkey is alarmed by the Kurdish control of five Syrian cities near the Turkish border by a military group linked to the pro-Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) -- a PKK branch based in northern Syria – which has been controlling the predominantly Kurdish cities after the Syrian army withdrew from the region to concentrate on the fight against insurgents in more central cities such as Aleppo and Damascus.
Replying to Margaret Warner's questions on the live PBS program, Davutoğlu said that Turkey was quite frustrated with the United Nations for several reasons.
“Now, we have around 90,000 Syrian refugees in our camps and around 40,000 refugees in several cities. It's a humanitarian tragedy. In fact, it is a test for the UN now, and it is a test for all of the international community,” said Davutoğlu.
‘Syria test a huge failure to UN'
Criticizing the UN Security Council, particularly the P5 [the five permanent members of the UN Security Council] due to its failure to agree on any resolution regarding the Syrian crisis, Davutoğlu said so far the Syria test has been a huge failure.
“Forget the political aspect. Even on humanitarian ground, that's quite a frustration for Turkey and other neighboring countries that are paying the price" said Davutoğlu.
The UN is facing criticism over its effectiveness and credibility as the massacre in Syria continues. “Human life cannot be a matter of negotiation between the five permanent members of the Security Council,” said Davutoğlu recently.
Davutoğlu refrained from answering a question about who is to blame for the inaction of the Security Council, saying it was known how Security Council failed until now in the last 18 months to produce any resolution. Mentioning China and Russia, Davutoğlu said that both countries have blocked three resolutions in the past.
"Of course United States and other P5 countries should be more decisive, having one voice and a clear message. Even if the UN Security Council is not able to find a consensus, there are other things to be done as an international community," said Davutoğlu.
Regarding a question on what the international community should do in terms of the humanitarian crisis, Davutoğlu replied that a clear signal and a very decisive message should be sent to the Syrian regime that their policy is not acceptable and there would be certain measures if they continue.” Until now, there is not such a clear message from United Nations that Syrian regime must stop this atrocity against civilians. At least this is a must," added Davutoğlu.
Reminding UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's apology to the Bosnians due to UN's inaction during the Bosnian crisis, Davutoğlu said that he was afraid that maybe after some years another UN secretary general may have to go to Syria for apology due to UN's inaction.
Davutoğlu stated that it was Turkey's responsibility as a neighbor to help Syrians fleeing to Turkey. “What we have paid out now is $300 million, which is a huge amount. And this cost is increasing every day. We are not complaining about this. This is our ethical and human responsibility to our brothers and sisters in Syria,” said Davutoğlu.
28 September 2012 / TODAYSZAMAN.COM WITH REUTERS,
A mortar bomb fired from Syria hit southeastern Turkey on Friday, slightly injuring three people and damaging homes and workplaces in the Akçakale border area, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
Turkish Foreign Ministry officials said they had no immediate information. The conflict in neighboring Syria has affected border areas in the past when stray bullets have flown into Turkish territory.
Last week, three other Turkish nationals were injured in the same border town after fierce clashes broke out between Syrian opposition fighters and regime forces.
In April, Turkey officially reported an incident to the United Nations in which at least five people, including two Turkish officials, were wounded when cross-border gunfire hit a Syrian refugee camp in Kilis, further west along the frontier.
Turkey beefed up its troop presence and air defenses along its 900-km border after Syria shot down a Turkish reconnaissance jet in June.
At the time, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the military's rules of engagement had been changed and that any Syrian element approaching Turkey's border and deemed a threat would be treated as a military target.
Davutoğlu says war a risk worth taking for Syria safe zones
28 September 2012 / TODAY'S ZAMAN, ANKARA
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, taking part in meetings on the sidelines of the 67th UN General Assembly in New York, called for the establishment of a safe zone in Syria despite the possibility that it could trigger a war, saying failure to take decisive measures now will lead to more risks in the future.
"If you don't take certain measures or certain steps on time, in the future you will be facing more risks. Unfortunately, since there was no clear message and decisive position of the international community at the early stages of the crisis, the Syrian regime felt confident enough to continue attacks,” said Davutoğlu.
Setting up a safe haven is one of the most debated issues among Turkish government officials. Turkish officials say the influx of hundreds of thousands of Syrians into Turkey would be the precondition for Turkey to establish a safe zone; similar to the buffer zone it established two decades ago to contain the mass migration of Kurdish Peshmerga from Iraq.
Speaking to the BBC on Thursday, Davutoğlu said that the establishment of a zone would also send a signal to the Syrian regime to stop its attacks against civilians. He added that risk was worth taking to get humanitarian aid to the huge numbers of displaced people inside Syria.
Late on Friday, Davutoğlu denied he called for the establishment of the safe zone in Syria despite the possibility that it could trigger a war.
Davutoğlu told state-run Anatolia news agency that he didn’t say going to war is a risk worth taking.
‘Conflict in Syria a huge security threat to Turkey'
Davutoğlu stated that the conflict in Syria, which has created a power vacuum on the Syrian side of the Turkish-Syrian border, is a huge security threat to Turkey, warning some terrorist groups may benefit from the power vacuum.
“It is a huge security threat. Why? Because we have a 911 kilometer-long border, and now there is a power vacuum on this border,” said the foreign minister in a report by the Anatolian Agency.
Speaking to US television channel PBS on Thursday, Davutoğlu said that some terrorist groups, including the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and al-Qaeda, may try to use the power vacuum or the security issue for their own interests in order to create instability.
Davutoğlu emphasized in July that Ankara would not allow terrorist groups like the PKK or al-Qaeda to establish a presence in war-torn Syria near the Turkish border.
“Even today, several terrorist activities inside Turkey are using this power vacuum. These terrorist groups are using this type of power vacuum for their own interests," said Davutoğlu.
Davutoğlu warned that Turkey has the right to take any step in case of a terror threat or a risk against Turkey from Syrian border.
Turkey is alarmed by the Kurdish control of five Syrian cities near the Turkish border by a military group linked to the pro-Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) -- a PKK branch based in northern Syria – which has been controlling the predominantly Kurdish cities after the Syrian army withdrew from the region to concentrate on the fight against insurgents in more central cities such as Aleppo and Damascus.
Replying to Margaret Warner's questions on the live PBS program, Davutoğlu said that Turkey was quite frustrated with the United Nations for several reasons.
“Now, we have around 90,000 Syrian refugees in our camps and around 40,000 refugees in several cities. It's a humanitarian tragedy. In fact, it is a test for the UN now, and it is a test for all of the international community,” said Davutoğlu.
‘Syria test a huge failure to UN'
Criticizing the UN Security Council, particularly the P5 [the five permanent members of the UN Security Council] due to its failure to agree on any resolution regarding the Syrian crisis, Davutoğlu said so far the Syria test has been a huge failure.
“Forget the political aspect. Even on humanitarian ground, that's quite a frustration for Turkey and other neighboring countries that are paying the price" said Davutoğlu.
The UN is facing criticism over its effectiveness and credibility as the massacre in Syria continues. “Human life cannot be a matter of negotiation between the five permanent members of the Security Council,” said Davutoğlu recently.
Davutoğlu refrained from answering a question about who is to blame for the inaction of the Security Council, saying it was known how Security Council failed until now in the last 18 months to produce any resolution. Mentioning China and Russia, Davutoğlu said that both countries have blocked three resolutions in the past.
"Of course United States and other P5 countries should be more decisive, having one voice and a clear message. Even if the UN Security Council is not able to find a consensus, there are other things to be done as an international community," said Davutoğlu.
Regarding a question on what the international community should do in terms of the humanitarian crisis, Davutoğlu replied that a clear signal and a very decisive message should be sent to the Syrian regime that their policy is not acceptable and there would be certain measures if they continue.” Until now, there is not such a clear message from United Nations that Syrian regime must stop this atrocity against civilians. At least this is a must," added Davutoğlu.
Reminding UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's apology to the Bosnians due to UN's inaction during the Bosnian crisis, Davutoğlu said that he was afraid that maybe after some years another UN secretary general may have to go to Syria for apology due to UN's inaction.
Davutoğlu stated that it was Turkey's responsibility as a neighbor to help Syrians fleeing to Turkey. “What we have paid out now is $300 million, which is a huge amount. And this cost is increasing every day. We are not complaining about this. This is our ethical and human responsibility to our brothers and sisters in Syria,” said Davutoğlu.
Mortar from Syria kills five family members in Turkey
3 October 2012 / TODAYSZAMAN.COM, İSTANBUL
A mortar bomb fired from Syria landed in a residential district of the southeastern Turkish town of Akçakale on Wednesday, killing a woman and four children from the same family and wounding at least 13 other people.
A cloud of dust and smoke rose up over low-rise buildings as residents ran to help the wounded. Others, infuriated by the increasing spillover of violence from Syria's civil war, took to the streets shouting protests against the local authorities.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu phoned UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to brief him about the incident and also spoke with senior military officials and Syria crisis mediator Lakhdar Brahimi, his ministry said in a statement.
Davutoğlu signaled over the weekend that Turkey would take action if there was a repeat of a mortar strike which damaged homes and workplaces in Akçakale last Friday.
"It (latest mortar round) hit right in the middle of the neighbourhood. The wife and four children from the same family died," Ahmet Emin Meşhurgül, local head of the Turkish Red Crescent, told Reuters, adding he knew the victims personally.
"People here are anxious, because we got hit before. Security forces tried to convince people to empty the neighbourhood near the border, but now we've been hit right in the middle of the town," he said.
A Reuters witness saw three police officers among the wounded being taken to hospital.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan long cultivated good relations with Assad but became a harsh critic after Syria's popular revolt began last year, accusing him of creating a "terrorist state". Erdoğan has allowed Syrian opposition fighters to organize on Turkish soil and pushed for a foreign-protected safe zone inside Syria.
Gunfire straying over border
Syria's worsening bloodshed has increasingly affected border zones, with stray bullets flying into Turkish territory.
"Over the last 20 to 25 days there have been very heavy clashes on the Syrian side. We have felt the effects of these in Akçakale," Labor Minister Faruk Çelik, an MP for the province where Akçakale is located, told parliament.
In April, Turkey reported an incident to the United Nations in which at least five people, including two Turkish officials, were wounded when cross-border gunfire struck a Syrian refugee camp in Kilis, further west along the frontier.
Turkey beefed up its troop presence and air defences along its 900-km (560-mile) border after Syria shot down a Turkish reconnaissance jet in June. But residents in Akcakale said there was still not enough security.
"People here are rising up, there is no security. People were chanting for the local governors to resign," local resident İbrahim Halil Arslan told CNN Turk television.
"Everybody here is so anxious. We keep our children locked at home, and we are trying to live under this psychological pressure," he said.
Washington sees Turkey as the pivotal player in backing Syria's opposition and planning for the post-Assad era. But Ankara has found itself increasingly isolated and frustrated by a lack of international consensus on how to end the conflict.
Turkey is also sheltering more than 90,000 refugees from Syria and fears a mass influx similar to the flight of half a million Iraqi Kurds into Turkey after the 1991 Gulf War.
Turkey says struck targets in Syria
3 October 2012 / TODAYSZAMAN.COM WITH REUTERS,
Turkey's military struck targets inside Syria on Wednesday in response to a mortar bomb fired from Syrian territory which killed five Turkish civilians, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's office said in a statement.
3 October 2012 / TODAYSZAMAN.COM WITH REUTERS,
Turkey's military struck targets inside Syria on Wednesday in response to a mortar bomb fired from Syrian territory which killed five Turkish civilians, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's office said in a statement.
