ANKARA, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- Chief of General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces Necdet Ozel said on Wednesday that the Turkey warned of stronger retaliation if Syria continues shelling on Turkish soil.
"We responded the Syrian mortar shelling. But we will retaliate stronger if Syria continues shelling Turkish territory," Ozel told reporters during his visit in Akcakale town of Sanliurfa province in southeastern Turkey Wednesday.
In a trip to the heavily fortified border region after a number of Syrian shells landed on Turkish soil, including one strike that left five civilians dead in Akcakale town last week, Ozel is inspecting troops stationed at the reinforced border.
The top Turkish commander also visited a house in Akcakale town, where a mortar bomb fired by Syrian forces killed a mother and her four children last week.
His visit came as the exchange of artillery and mortar shelling across the volatile Turkish-Syrian border entered its sixth consecutive day since the Oct. 3 incident.
The Dogan news agency quoted unidentified military sources as saying that at least 25 additional F-16 fighter jets were deployed at Turkey's Diyarbakir air base late Monday.
In an emergency session last Thursday, the Turkish parliament approved a motion for cross-border military operations inside Syria.
Ankara has been complaining about the spillover of Syrian artillery shelling and gunfire into its territory, and said it would act if mortar strikes were repeated from Syria.
Turkey, once an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad but now a leading voice urging his ouster, shelters over 90,000 Syrian refugees and has reportedly provided Syrian rebel army leaders with sanctuary.
ANKARA, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- Turkey slows down its engagement into the Syrian crisis as Ankara could not get support from international community, Turkish experts said here on Tuesday.
"Turkey was moving fast (on its policies regarding Syrian crisis), but has put on the brake as Ankara could not receive support on its arguments," Prof. Dr. Huseyin Bagci, chairman of Department of International Relations at Middle East Technical University, told Xinhua on Tuesday. Full story
ISTANBUL, Oct. 10 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said here on Wednesday that Turkey has no intention to intervene Syria's internal affairs and what happening in Syria is not because of Turkey. Full story
ISTANBUL, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- Turkey and Syria move closer than ever to the verge of war after Syria's latest mortar shelling killed five Turkish civilians.
The Turkey Parliament has authorized a war mandate last week, enabling further cross-border military action against Syria. Full story
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