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INSIGHT: TURKEY INCREASINGLY ENTANGLED IN SYRIAN CONFLICT
Middle East Voices
Oct 17 2012
On October 15 Turkish air force jets forced an Armenian plane en route
to the Syrian town of Aleppo to land at Erzurum in eastern Turkey for
a security check. Also, according to the Turkish disaster management
agency (AFAD), the number of Syrian refugees in camps in Turkey has
now exceeded 100,000.
Since Syrian shells killed five civilians in the Turkish border town
of Akcakale on October 8, Turkey has been increasingly drawn into the
turmoil of the civil war in Syria. The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) have
increased their presence along the Turkish-Syrian border, and Turkish
fighter jets have begun to intercept planes entering Turkish air space
that are suspected of transporting arms or military equipment to Syria.
The interception of the Armenian plane, which is now understood to
have been carrying humanitarian aid, followed the grounding on October
10 of a Syrian passenger plane traveling from Moscow, the capital of
Russia, to Damascus, the capital of Syria. The Turkish authorities
stated afterwards that the Syrian plane was carrying unspecified
illegal cargo, which they confiscated, and Russian security personnel.
Turkey has since banned Syrian aircraft from Turkish airspace and
prohibited Turkish flights from entering Syrian airspace.
The grounding of the Syrian plane en route from Moscow sparked tensions
between Turkey and Russia, although both were quick to announce that
the incident would not damage bilateral relations.
Turkey has growing economic ties with Russia, which continues to
support the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
"[Turkey] will avoid major unilateral military action against Syria.
But there is a high risk that the situation could spiral out of the
government's control." - Pratibha Thaker, EIU
Along with China, Russia has repeatedly vetoed attempts in the U.N. to
introduce sanctions against Assad's regime. Turkey has repeatedly
called for a U.N.-mandated/NATO-patrolled buffer zone to be created
inside Syria to protect those fleeing the violence in their country.
But after intervening in Libya in 2011, Turkey's Western allies have
little appetite for intervention in Syria.
Syrians refugees walk after crossing into Turkey by boat via the
Orontes river on the Turkish-Syrian border in Hatay province October
12, 2012 (Reuters).
The announcement on October 15 that the number of Syrian refugees
in camps in Turkey had exceeded 100,000 may have been intended
to increase pressure on Turkey's allies to take action. Turkish
authorities insist that they are operating an open-door policy, but
warned earlier this year that the country would not be able to cope
with more than 100,000 refugees. On October 14 Human Rights Watch,
an international non-governmental organization, called on Turkish
authorities to re-open border crossings, as more than 10,000 Syrians
had been stranded for weeks on the Syrian side.
The government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will
avoid major unilateral military action against Syria. But there is
a high risk that the situation could spiral out of the government's
control.
This post has been authored exclusively for MEV by Economist
Intelligence Unit
The views expressed in this Insight are the author's own and are
not endorsed by Middle East Voices or Voice of America. If you'd
like to share your opinion on this post, you may use our democratic
commenting system below. If you are a Middle East expert or analyst
associated with an established academic institution, think tank
or non-governmental organization, we invite you to contribute your
perspectives on events and issues about or relevant to the region.
Please email us through our Contact page with a short proposal for an
Insight post or send us a link to an existing post already published
on your institutional blog.
http://middleeastvoices.voanews.com/2012/10/insight-turkey-increasingly-entangled-in-syrian-conflict-77833/
Middle East Voices
Oct 17 2012
On October 15 Turkish air force jets forced an Armenian plane en route
to the Syrian town of Aleppo to land at Erzurum in eastern Turkey for
a security check. Also, according to the Turkish disaster management
agency (AFAD), the number of Syrian refugees in camps in Turkey has
now exceeded 100,000.
Since Syrian shells killed five civilians in the Turkish border town
of Akcakale on October 8, Turkey has been increasingly drawn into the
turmoil of the civil war in Syria. The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) have
increased their presence along the Turkish-Syrian border, and Turkish
fighter jets have begun to intercept planes entering Turkish air space
that are suspected of transporting arms or military equipment to Syria.
The interception of the Armenian plane, which is now understood to
have been carrying humanitarian aid, followed the grounding on October
10 of a Syrian passenger plane traveling from Moscow, the capital of
Russia, to Damascus, the capital of Syria. The Turkish authorities
stated afterwards that the Syrian plane was carrying unspecified
illegal cargo, which they confiscated, and Russian security personnel.
Turkey has since banned Syrian aircraft from Turkish airspace and
prohibited Turkish flights from entering Syrian airspace.
The grounding of the Syrian plane en route from Moscow sparked tensions
between Turkey and Russia, although both were quick to announce that
the incident would not damage bilateral relations.
Turkey has growing economic ties with Russia, which continues to
support the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
"[Turkey] will avoid major unilateral military action against Syria.
But there is a high risk that the situation could spiral out of the
government's control." - Pratibha Thaker, EIU
Along with China, Russia has repeatedly vetoed attempts in the U.N. to
introduce sanctions against Assad's regime. Turkey has repeatedly
called for a U.N.-mandated/NATO-patrolled buffer zone to be created
inside Syria to protect those fleeing the violence in their country.
But after intervening in Libya in 2011, Turkey's Western allies have
little appetite for intervention in Syria.
Syrians refugees walk after crossing into Turkey by boat via the
Orontes river on the Turkish-Syrian border in Hatay province October
12, 2012 (Reuters).
The announcement on October 15 that the number of Syrian refugees
in camps in Turkey had exceeded 100,000 may have been intended
to increase pressure on Turkey's allies to take action. Turkish
authorities insist that they are operating an open-door policy, but
warned earlier this year that the country would not be able to cope
with more than 100,000 refugees. On October 14 Human Rights Watch,
an international non-governmental organization, called on Turkish
authorities to re-open border crossings, as more than 10,000 Syrians
had been stranded for weeks on the Syrian side.
The government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will
avoid major unilateral military action against Syria. But there is
a high risk that the situation could spiral out of the government's
control.
This post has been authored exclusively for MEV by Economist
Intelligence Unit
The views expressed in this Insight are the author's own and are
not endorsed by Middle East Voices or Voice of America. If you'd
like to share your opinion on this post, you may use our democratic
commenting system below. If you are a Middle East expert or analyst
associated with an established academic institution, think tank
or non-governmental organization, we invite you to contribute your
perspectives on events and issues about or relevant to the region.
Please email us through our Contact page with a short proposal for an
Insight post or send us a link to an existing post already published
on your institutional blog.
http://middleeastvoices.voanews.com/2012/10/insight-turkey-increasingly-entangled-in-syrian-conflict-77833/