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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 20-Jun-2011
20-Jun-11 News -- Turkey and Syria move closer to military clash

Web Log - June, 2011

20-Jun-11 News -- Turkey and Syria move closer to military clash

Turkey considers sending troops into Syria

Turkey and Syria move closer to military clash

Syria is moving tanks and soldiers into villages near the border to Turkey, in order to stop the flow of Syrian refugees into Turkey, according to AP.

A Turkish woman talks to a relative, a Syrian refugee, through a fence at refugee camp (Reuters)

A Turkish woman talks to a relative, a Syrian refugee, through a fence at refugee camp (Reuters)

Over 10,000 Syrians have fled their homes and crossed the border into Turkey, in order to seek protection in Turkish refugee camps. There are about 10,000 more Syrians who are camping out near the Turkish border, waiting for an opportunity to cross over, according to Zaman.

Many of them were fed by a baker in the border city of Bdama. But on Saturday, Syrian troops on taks fired machine guns into Bdama and surrounding areas, killing anything that moves, burning down homes. The owner of the Bdama baker was shot, and the bakery was torched by the troops.

As a result, Turkey is now extending aid across its border into Syria, to help people massed there, according to AFP.

In addition, Syria Today is quoting a Turkish television channel saying that a helicopter violated Syrian airspace to conduct a reconnaissance mission.

Turkey considers sending troops into Syria

During the last few days, we've been reporting bits and pieces of news stories that indicate that Turkey is considering sending troops into Syria to establish a "buffer zone" or "security zone" on Syrian soil. Refugees could say in the buffer zone under protection of the Turkish army.

This could cause military clashes between the Turkish and Syrian armies, but some intelligence sources indicate that Syria's president Bashar al-Assad has threatened to respond by sending missiles deep into Turkish territory. For this reason, the US has moved the USS Bataan amphibian air carrier strike vessel to Syrian's coast in the Mediterranean. In the case of Syrian missile attacks on Turkey, the US would provide Turkey with the shield of the AEGIS missile interceptors aboard American warships in the Middle East.

According to an expert quoted by Zaman, Turkey will not just stand by and watch Assad's army kill innocent Syrians on Turkey's border:

"Remember when NATO was accused by the international media and public of not being able to prevent 8,000 Muslim Bosnians from being murdered in front of the world's eyes? As a member of NATO and a country whose border is about to witness such a massacre by the Syrian army, Turkey will not allow such a thing to happen again, especially before its own eyes."

According to the article, there have been numerous top-level visits of Turkish officials to the border region, in order to send a clear and serious message to Syria that Turkey will not close its eyes to the killings, though apparently the message is not being understood by Assad.

(Comments: For reader comments, questions and discussion, see the 20-Jun-11 News -- Turkey and Syria move closer to military clash thread of the Generational Dynamics forum. Comments may be posted anonymously.) (20-Jun-2011) Permanent Link
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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 20-Jun-2011 20-Jun-11 News -- Turkey and Syria move closer to military clash

Turkey and Syria move closer to military clash

Turkey considers sending troops into Syria

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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 20-Jun-2011
20-Jun-11 News -- Turkey and Syria move closer to military clash