Turkish Armed forces to respond to airspace breach by Syria

It was announced by Turkey’s defense minister  that  the country’s armed forces would respond to an airspace breach by Syrian aircrafts.

Mr. Ismet YILMAZ said to reporters; “Military engagement rules established by our government are still valid. Required response will be given to Syrian planes or helicopters in case of violation of our airspace”.

It is known that Syrian war planes undertake breaches of Turkish airspace to conduct operations on rebel-controlled areas at (or close to) the Turkish border. For instance it was reported that 31 people had lost their lives due to a two-day bombardment of Syria’s Ras al Ain town and nearly 10,000 residents had passed the Turkish border to seek shelter.

Thus, the minister’s remarks came amid unconfirmed media reports that Syrian war planes had realized such breach again and caused tension.

Earlier, a warning was sent by Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Turkey had changed its military engagement rules on Syria and any Syrian military unit approaching its border would be treated as a direct threat.

15.11.2012
BTT