“Our F-16s took off and hit this plane. Why? Because if you violate my airspace, our slap after this will be hard,” Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during an election rally in northwest Turkey, referring to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.
"I congratulate the chief of general staff, the armed forces and those honourable pilots... I congratulate our air forces," he said.
- Turkish media reported that the army warned two Syrian jets approaching its border to turn away, but sent its F-16 jets when one refused to abide by the warning.
President Abdullah Gul called Chief of Staff General Necdet Ozel to congratulate him.
"Turkey has shown its determination to protect its border," he was quoted as saying by Turkish media.
Parliament speaker Cemil Cicek said Turkey had acted within its rights under international law, media reported.
Syria, on the other hand, said Turkish air defences shot down the jet while it was attacking rebel forces inside Syrian territory.
An unnamed military official was quoted by Syrian state TV as saying the plane was downed Sunday in Syrian airspace as it was attacking rebels who have been on the offensive in the coastal province of Latakia. The spokesman said the pilot ejected from the aircraft.
- The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group said initial reports from the area said the plane came down on the Syrian side of the border.
- Turkish warplanes last year downed a Syrian helicopter, which Ankara said was detected two kilometres inside Turkish airspace.
Turkey toughened its rules of engagement after the downing of one of its fighter jets by the Syrian air force in June, 2012 to say that any military approach of the Turkish border from Syria would be considered a threat.
Turkey, a staunch opponent of the regime in Damascus, hosts more than 750,000 refugees from the three-year Syrian conflict, many of them in camps along the border.france24.com
23/3/14
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Turkey vows to respond to any attack on Süleyman Shah Tomb...
ReplyDeleteThe Süleyman Shah Tomb in Syria is Turkey’s national land and will be protected accordingly, President Abdullah Gül has said, amid reported threats from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) to Turkey to lower its flag on the tomb before March 24.
“Some countries have lands outside their homelands. These are sometimes in different continents or in islands. Our sole piece of land outside our homeland is this. It will be protected the way our homeland is protected,” Gül told reporters before his departure to Netherlands on March 23.
“It’s Turkey’s land and it will have its flag there. I want everybody to know this,” he added.
ISIL, a radical Islamist group and affiliate of the al-Qaeda terrorist group, reportedly threatened Turkey to lower its flag on the tomb if it does not want it to be destroyed.
Turkey has 25 soldiers stationed at the tomb for its protection, which is only 25 kilometers from the border. There have been reports that the Turkish army is preparing for a small scale operation for the protection of the tomb in the event of an attack by ISIL...............http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-vows-to-respond-to-any-attack-on-suleyman-shah-tomb.aspx?pageID=238&nID=63967&NewsCatID=359
23/3/14
Syrian regime has 'broken' agreement with Turkey ...
ReplyDeleteThe Turkish foreign ministry has said that the Syrian regime has not adhered to the Turkey-Syria Border Commission Meetings Protocol, signed May 9, 1971, which bans aircraft from either side getting any closer than five kilometers to their shared border.
"After the two Syrian regime planes started to approach the border, our military authorities warned them. One of the planes returned after the warning, while the other one ignored the warning and violated the airspace," the statement released by the ministry said.
It continued saying that the ministry does not recommend and does not want the Turkish Armed Forces' determination being tested.
Turkish FM talks to Ban, Rasmussen over Syrian military jet shooting...
ReplyDeleteAhmet Davutoglu spoke with Rasmussen and Ban to discuss the developments following the Syrian military jet was shot down.
Two Syrian MIG-23 fighter aircrafts approached Turkey's airspace along the Turkish-Syrian border around 1pm on Sunday.
"One of the planes diverted its course after four warnings; however, the other plane violated Turkey's airspace at 1:13 pm by about a kilometer, and headed west and continued to fly in Turkish airspace for about one and a half kilometer," said the office of Turkish Chief of Staff.
The pilot of the downed aircraft reportedly survived the incident, having jumped out with a parachute.
http://www.aa.com.tr/en/headline/304938--turkish-fm-talks-to-ban-rasmussen-over-syrian-military-jet-shooting
24/3/14
Syrian radar 'locked on to Turkish jets'...
ReplyDeleteThree Turkish fighter jets were harassed by Syrian missile systems on Wednesday, the Turkish General Staff announced in a statement.
“Three F-16 fighter jets performing Combat Air Patrol on the Turkey-Syria border were harassed by Syrian air missile batteries, which locked on to our jets 11 times in five minutes and ten seconds," the statement, published on the General Staff's website said.
The Turkish Air Forces scrambled its fighters to intercept three Syrian military jets approaching the border adding that the jets turned back 3.3 to 4.1 kilometers from the border
Turkey on Sunday shot down a Syrian military jet, saying that it had violated Turkish airspace.
The two countries share more than 800 km of border.
http://www.aa.com.tr/en/headline/306180--syrian-radar-locked-on-to-turkish-jets
26/3/14
Turkish army downed Syrian plane with authorization, in line with international law: TSK...
ReplyDeleteThe Turkish military shot down a Syrian warplane using authorization given by the government and conducted the operation in accordance with national and international law, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) said on March 26, following allegations of an unjustified attack.
“The TSK successfully fulfilled its duty using the given authorization. The operation was conducted in accordance with national and international law,” read the statement, regarding the Syrian plane downed by Turkish F-16 jets.
It added that some were trying to drag the Turkish military into political issues ahead of the upcoming local elections, stating that “some media outlets” had recently made “speculative” reports.
Some media reports had suggested that the Syrian plane actually did not violate Turkish airspace.
Meanwhile, approached by the Hürriyet Daily News, an official from a prominent NATO member stated that their own records confirmed the Syrian plane had violated Turkish airspace despite warnings from the Turkish military.
“The Turkish Armed Forces have no troops in Syria other than the Süleyman Shah post,” the TSK statement also said.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-army-downed-syrian-plane-with-authorization-in-line-with-international-law-tsk.aspx?pageID=238&nID=64141&NewsCatID=338
26/3/14