Turkey PM Erdogan issues Syria border warning

Syria has become an "open threat" to Turkey, PM Erdogan says

Syria Conflict

Turkey says its military rules of engagement have changed after Syria shot down a Turkish plane that strayed into its territory.

PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan told parliament that if Syrian troops approached Turkey's borders, they would be seen as a military threat.
Meanwhile Nato has expressed its condemnation of Syria's attack as well as strong support for Turkey.
Syria insists the F-4 Phantom jet was shot down inside Syrian airspace.
The plane crashed into the eastern Mediterranean and its two pilots are missing.
Activists from the Local Co-ordination Committees said 30 people were killed across Syria on Tuesday, including 15 in the capital's suburbs.
Syrian state media said dozens of "terrorists" had been killed in the Damascus suburb of al-Hama.

Turkish account

Friday 22 June, early morning: F-4 leaves Erhac Nato airbase
Flies over Hatay province (Turkey)
11:42 GMT: mistakenly enters Syrian airspace near Latakia at 200ft (61m) at 300 knots
11:47: leaves after Turkish radar operator warning - no Syrian warning
11:56: radio contact lost: hit 13 nautical miles from Syrian coast at 7,400ft by heat-seeking guided laser missile
11:58 crashes into the sea

Mr Erdogan spoke of Turkey's "rage" at the decision to shoot down the F-4 Phantom on 22 June and described Syria as a "clear and present threat".

"A short-term border violation can never be a pretext for an attack," he said. The Turkish jet was on a training flight, testing Turkey's radars in the eastern Mediterranean, he said.
He made it clear that Turkey was adopting a "common sense" attitude, although that "shouldn't be perceived as a weakness".
"Every military element approaching Turkey from the Syrian border and representing a security risk and danger will be assessed as a military threat and will be treated as a military target," he said.
Turkey requested a meeting of the alliance's ambassadors in Brussels after invoking Article 4 of Nato's founding treaty, which entitles any member state to ask for consultations if it believes its security is threatened.
In a statement, the alliance's 28 members said the shooting down of the plane was "unacceptable" and they stood together with Turkey "in the spirit of strong solidarity".

Syrian account

11:40 GMT Friday: F-4 flew at 100m (330 ft) altitude, 1-2km (0.6m-1.2m) from Syrian coast
Surprise meant no time to give warning
Anti-aircraft gun shot it down in Syrian waters with fire of maximum range of 2.5km
Radar-guided missile not deployed
Tail wreckage shows it was hit by anti-aircraft fire

Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said: "It is another example of the Syrian authorities' disregard for international norms. Nato allies will remain seized of developments."

Earlier, in a letter to the UN Security Council, Turkey described the shooting down of its reconnaissance plane as a "hostile act" and "a serious threat to peace and security in the region".
Ankara says the jet mistakenly strayed into Syrian airspace but was quickly warned to change course by Turkish authorities and was 1.6km inside international airspace when it was shot down.
Syria said it was unaware that the plane belonged to Turkey and had been protecting its airspace.
Turkey has also accused its neighbour of firing on a search and rescue plane looking for the F-4 Phantom jet, although it was not brought down.
Relations between the two countries were already highly strained before the F-4 was shot down.
Mr Erdogan has been outspoken in his condemnation of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose government he accuses of brutally putting down opposition protests.
In Syria itself, opposition activists on Tuesday reported fierce fighting near Republican Guard positions in suburbs of Damascus.

Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Nato considered the attack "unacceptable"

There were clashes in Qadsaya and al-Hama, around 8km (5 miles) from the centre of the city, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told AFP news agency. The UK-based organisation also said security forces had entered the Barzeh area of Damascus.
Syrian state TV said that as well as the "terrorists" killed in al-Hama, many others had been taken prisoner including some non-Syrian Arab nationals.
The Observatory and the Free Syrian Army also said there had been reports of a military helicopter being shot down in Idlib, but gave no details.
International media cannot report freely in Syria and it is impossible to verify the reports.
Fighting was also reported in the old city of Homs where the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) last week tried unsuccessfully to arrange the evacuation of civilians trapped by the fighting. The ICRC said on Tuesday it was returning to the city for a fresh attempt.

Alleged flightpath of downed Turkish F-4 Phantom

1. F-4 Phantom takes off from Erhac airbase, Turkey, at approximately 10:28 local time (07:28 GMT), on 22 June
2. Syria says the jet enters its airspace at 11:40 (08:40 GMT)
3. Turkish military loses contact with the plane at 11:58 (08:58 GMT), while it is over Hatay province
4. Syria says its air defences engaged aircraft about 1km (0.5 nautical miles) from the coast and that it crashed into the sea 10km (5 nautical miles) west of Om al-Tuyour. Turkey says the plane was 24km (13 nautical miles) from Syria, which under international law is considered international airspace
COPIADO : http://www.bbc.co.uk/

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