4 October 2012 Last updated at 12:53 GMT

Turkey approves action in Syria

Turkey's parliament authorises its troops to launch cross-border operations into Syria, following the deaths of two women and three children in shelling by Syria.

• In pictures: Turkey-Syria tension
• Turkey hits targets inside Syria Watch
• Turkish media fear consequences 4 October 2012 Last updated at 12:54 GMT

  Turkey's parliament authorises military action in Syria

  Five Turkish civilians were killed in the Syrian shelling of the town of Akcakale
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  Syria conflict

  • Turkey seeks action
  • Assad heartland
  • Bombed from above
  • Guide to conflict
  Turkey's parliament has authorised troops to launch cross-border action against Syria, following Syria's deadly shelling of a Turkish town.
  The bill, passed by 320 to 129, also permits strikes against Syrian targets.
  But Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay insisted this was a deterrent and not a mandate for war.
  Turkey has been firing at targets inside Syria since Wednesday's shelling of the town of Akcakale, which killed two women and three children.
  Ankara's military response marks the first time it has fired into Syria during the 18-month-long unrest there.
  Apology The Turkish parliament passed the bill in a closed-doors emergency session.
  It permits military action, if required by the government, for the period of one year.
  
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  Akcakale

  

  • Akcakale is a district of southern Sanliurfa province, close to the border with Syria
  • The last published census in 2000 shows its population stood at just over 77,000
  • It is just under 50km (31 miles) from the Syrian border town of Tall al-Abyad and about 240 km (150 miles) from Aleppo
  • The area surrounding the town is known for its archaeological excavations

  Sources: Turkish Statistical Institute, Sanliurfa Municipality
  

  • In pictures: Turkey-Syria tension
  • Turkish media fear consequences of war
  However, Mr Atalay insisted the priority was to act in co-ordination with international bodies.
  He told Turkish television: "This mandate is not a war mandate but it is in our hands to be used when need be in order to protect Turkey's own interests."
  He said Syria had accepted responsibility for the deaths.
  "The Syrian side has admitted what it did and apologised," AFP news agency quoted Mr Atalay as saying.
  The UN Security Council is to meet later, following a Turkish request for the body to take "necessary action" to stop Syrian "aggression".
  Nato has held an urgent meeting to support Turkey, demanding "the immediate cessation of such aggressive acts against an ally".
  The US, the UK, France and the European Union have already condemned Syria's actions.
  Russia, which is allied to President Bashar al-Assad's government, has asked Damascus to acknowledge officially that the cross-border attack was "a tragic accident" which will not happen again.
  Many social media users in Turkey have been reacting strongly against the possibility of war with Syria.
  Hashtags such as #notowar drew a lot of attention.
  One user, coymak, tweeted: "There is no victory in war, only victory is the happiness in the eye of the children when it is ended!"
  There were many tweets referring to the call for an anti-war rally in central Istanbul on Thursday evening.
  In Syria itself as many as 21 members of Syria's elite Republican Guards have been killed in an explosion and firefight in the Qudsaya district of Damascus, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) told the BBC.
  The SOHR is one of the most prominent organisations documenting and reporting incidents and casualties in the Syrian conflict. The group says its reports are impartial, though its information cannot be independently verified. COPY http://www.bbc.co.uk