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Syria says border incidents must be handled "wisely, rationally"

04 October 2012 03:01 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zoubi said Wednesday that when border incidents occur, the concerned countries should deal with them "wisely and rationally,"APA reports quoting Xinhua

The minister’s remarks came after the tension has gotten seriously high on the Syrian northern frontier with Turkey after artillery shells, reportedly coming from Syria, slammed the Sanliurfa province in southeastern Turkey and killed five Turks.

The Turkish artillery has reportedly fired at Syrian targets after the incident, further raising the already-high tension between the two countries.

After the border incident, Turkey called for an emergency meeting for the NATO’s National Atlantic Council to discuss the latest event.

Meanwhile, Minister al-Zoubi said Syria is investigating the sources of the mortar attack, renewing calls for respecting the national sovereignty of Syria.

"In cases of border incidents, the countries should handle them with wisdom, prudence and responsibility, particularly with the presence of armed terrorist groups that have their own agendas," the minister said.

He pointed out that the Syrian-Turkish borders are sprawling, charging that the borders are being used as smuggling routes for arms and ammunition.

Al-Zoubi also extended Syria’s condolences to the families that have lost loved ones after the incident in Turkey.

Meanwhile, the office of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued a statement in which it condemned the shelling on the Turkish soil, saying that "Our armed forces at the borders responded to this atrocious attack with artillery fire on points in Syria that were detected with radar, in line with the rules of engagement."

Furthermore, the statement said that "Turkey, acting in accordance to the rules of engagement and international laws, will never leave such provocations by the Syrian regime against our national security unreturned."

Turkey has emerged as a sympathizer to the armed rebels groups in Syria, providing them with safe havens and other facilitation.

Erdogan has repeatedly called on the Syrian President Bashar al- Assad to step down.

The Turkish government seems to have jumped into conclusions and pointed fingers at the Syrian government at a time some Syrian observers, hosted by news TVs, said that the only beneficiary of the border tension are the armed rebels.

Meanwhile, the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV quoted Wednesday an unnamed Syrian official as saying that the Turkish government has turned the frontier with Syria into a stage for military operations and clashes.

The source said that "Turkey must better control its borders and stop supporting terrorism and entering armed men and weapons into Syria."

The source also warned that "similar acts could inflame sedition between the two countries."