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Subscribe to RSSTurkey has authorized further military action against Syria saying it is intended to be a deterrent and to protect Turkey. NBC's Ayman Mohyeldin reports.
Updated at 6:46 p.m. ET: The United Nations Security Council on Thursday condemned a mortar attack by Syria on a Turkish border town that killed five people and demanded that "such violations of international law stop immediately and are not repeated.''
“The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the shelling by the Syrian armed forces of the Turkish town of Akcakale, which resulted in the deaths of five civilians, all of whom were women and children, as well as a number of injuries. The members of the Security Council expressed their sincere condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government and people of Turkey,” the Security Council said in a statement.
“The members of the Security Council underscored that this incident highlighted the grave impact the crisis in Syria has on the security of its neighbors and on regional peace and stability. The members of the Council demanded that such violations of international law stop immediately and are not repeated. The members of the Security Council called on the Syrian Government to fully respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighbors.”
The mortar attack happened on Wednesday and Turkey responded by striking targets in Syria later the same day and Thursday.
Seeking to unwind the most serious cross-border escalation in its 18-month-old crackdown on dissent, Damascus apologized through the United Nations for the shelling and said it would not happen again, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said.
Syria's staunch ally Russia said it had received assurances from Damascus that the mortar strike was a tragic accident.
But Turkey's government said "aggressive action" against its territory by Syria's military had become a serious threat to its national security and parliament approved the deployment of Turkish troops beyond its borders if needed.
"Turkey has no interest in a war with Syria. But Turkey is capable of protecting its borders and will retaliate when necessary," Ibrahim Kalin, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, said on his Twitter account.
"Political, diplomatic initiatives will continue," he said.
Esber Ayayadin / Anadolu Agency via EPA
Turkish soldiers and relatives of Gulsen Ozer, who was killed by a mortar bomb from Syria, attend her funeral in Turkey's southeastern border region of Akcakale, Sanliurfa, Turkey, on Thursday.
Turkey hit back after a mortar hit a residential neighborhood in Akcakale on Wednesday, killing a woman, her three daughters and another woman.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said several Syrian soldiers were killed in the Turkish retaliatory bombardment of a military post near Tel Abyad, a few miles across the frontier from Akcakale. It did not say how many soldiers died.
"We know that they have suffered losses," a Turkish security source told Reuters, without giving further details.
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NATO said it stood by member nation Turkey and urged Syria to put an end to "flagrant violations of international law."
A mortar attack fired from Syrian territory killed five Turkish civilians, prompting Turkey to strike back. NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports.
The U.S.-led Western military alliance held an urgent late-night meeting in Brussels to discuss the matter and in New York, Turkey asked the U.N. Security Council to take the "necessary action" to stop Syrian aggression.
In a letter to the president of the 15-nation Security Council, Turkish U.N. Ambassador Ertugrul Apakan called the firing of the mortar bomb "a breach of international peace and security."
SANA via Reuters
A look back at the violence that has overtaken Syria.
'Risks to our national security'
Turkey's parliament had already been due to vote on Thursday on extending a five-year-old authorization for foreign military operations, an agreement originally intended to allow strikes on Kurdish militant bases in northern Iraq.
But the memorandum signed by Erdogan and sent to parliament overnight said that despite repeated warnings and diplomatic initiatives, the Syrian military had launched aggressive action against Turkish territory, presenting "additional risks."
"This situation has reached a level of creating a serious threat and risks to our national security. At this point the need has emerged to take the necessary measures to act promptly and swiftly against additional risks and threats," it said.
Syria's foreign minister says US, allies support 'terrorism'
A series of suicide bombings in Syria's largest city killed scores of people. State TV reported that three explosions rocked a government-controlled district in Aleppo. TODAY's Natalie Morales reports.
"Our armed forces in the border region responded immediately to this abominable attack in line with their rules of engagement; targets were struck through artillery fire against places in Syria identified by radar," Erdogan's office said in a statement late on Wednesday.
"Turkey will never leave unanswered such kinds of provocation by the Syrian regime against our national security."
Syria said it was investigating the source of the mortar bomb and urged restraint. Information Minister Omran Zoabi conveyed his condolences to the Turkish people, saying his country respected the sovereignty of neighboring countries.
Get a glimpse at the rebels fighting against Assad's forces in Syria's mountainous Jabal al-Zawiya area.
Some residents of Akcakale abandoned their homes close to the border and spent the night on the streets. Others gathered outside the local mayor's office, afraid to return to their homes as the dull thud of distant artillery fire rumbled across the town.
"We haven't been able to sleep in our own homes for 15 days, we had to sleep in our relatives' houses further away from the border because it's not safe down there," said shopkeeper Hadi Celik, 42, a father of five.
Washington sees Turkey as a pivotal player in backing Syria's opposition and planning for the post-Assad era. The White House said on Wednesday it stood by "our Turkish ally." But Ankara has found itself increasingly isolated and frustrated by a lack of international consensus on how to end the conflict.
Murad Sezer / Reuters
Turkish soldiers patrol near the Akcakale border gate on Thursday.
More Syria coverage from NBC News
Erdogan 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." Erdogan has allowed Syrian rebels to organize on Turkish soil and pushed for a foreign-protected safe zone inside Syria.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
The U.N. fires up the hooka and says That's a No-No!
I condemn the UN for all the meaningless condemnation they condemn on any world acts of killing the innocent & doing nothing but condemning.
Stop Wasting Time Boys.... I want WAR WAR 3... The SORRY USA needs to get the ball ROLLING baby... Come on Obama boy pull the Trigger.. No Wait! You have NO MANHOOD for that One... Call in another WHIPPING BOY from Congress to do it. No he has NO MANHOOD either... Well DAMN!!! Is there a WOMAN in the HOUSE? NO not Hillary.. Bill and Monica might get MAD..... Bill!! Didn't you say you NEVER had SEXUAL RELATIONS with that Woman? LIAR!!!! Well! Obama it is up to YOU!!! RINGGGG you FAILED.... Just like the USA a BIG LOSER!!!!!
Don't you just love all these International Diplomatic Experts and their vines? With all this talent, why do we have so much trouble in the world?
United Numbskulls is the biggest waste of time and effort. If Romney really wants to save Tax Payers money he'll give them an eviction notice. We pay millions each year to protect the idiots every time they open their doors. Let them move to downtown Tehran.
They can condemn all they want. IT means nothing.
Turkey should not have been supplying thugs, weapons and a base of operation for the thugs (er, rebels) in the first place.
Where was the U.N. while Turkey was doing that? Not one word was ever said for Turkey interfering in a civil war.
Not one word to the U.S. president for sending weapons to the thugs to over throw a recognized government.
They can say what they want, they are about a year to late to say something about Turkey keeping it's nose out of another county's business.
Someone asked and I found this. I agree that the UN does not have a bite.
The name "United Nations", coined by United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt was first used in the Declaration by United Nations of 1 January 1942, during the Second World War, when representatives of 26 nations pledged their Governments to continue fighting together against the Axis Powers.
States first established international organizations to cooperate on specific matters. The International Telecommunication Union was founded in 1865 as the International Telegraph Union, and the Universal Postal Union was established in 1874. Both are now United Nations specialized agencies.
In 1899, the International Peace Conference was held in The Hague to elaborate instruments for settling crises peacefully, preventing wars and codifying rules of warfare. It adopted the Convention for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes and established the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which began work in 1902.
The forerunner of the United Nations was the League of Nations, an organization conceived in similar circumstances during the first World War, and established in 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles "to promote international cooperation and to achieve peace and security." The International Labour Organization was also created under the Treaty of Versailles as an affiliated agency of the League. The League of Nations ceased its activities after failing to prevent the Second World War.
The UN was in U. Franky and Obama knew each other, right? Settle your crisis peacefully? Were the recent visitors by the US press polite or respectful of Erdogan? You are not playing with a full deck of cards.
Obama invented a new political party after he thought of President Roosevelt- "No, I don't want Martial's Law, I want my own."
Turkey looked at the debacle from the shelling and then looked at Northern Iraq and then looked at Greece and then said to themselves, "Something is not right." Then they looked at Israel and said to themselves "Woe..., I'm not stupid."