Is Turkey Being Pulled into Syria's Civil War?

October 04, 2012 from Al Jazeera English

Turkey's parliament has given its military a mandate to move into Syria if deemed necessary for national security. The action follows the deaths of five Turkish civilians when a Turkish artillery shell exploded in their village. The southeastern border town of Akçakale has been put under extra security after Wednesday night's incident, but for locals in the border town, it is not nearly enough. Al Jazeera's Anita McNaught reports from Akçakale.

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Syria-Turkey relations

Syrian–Turkish relations have long been strained. Turkey shares its longest common border with Syria; various geographic and historical links also tie the two neighboring states together. This friction has been due to disputes including the self annexation of the Hatay Provinc... Explore this topic

Akçakale

Akçakale is a town and district of Şanlıurfa Province in southeastern Turkey. It lies near the border checkpoint on the road D.885 from Şanlıurfa to Tell Abyad in Syria. The mayor is Abdülhakim Ayhan. The majority of the city is Arab. Explore this topic

Syrian Civil War

The Syrian civil war is an ongoing armed conflict in Syria between forces loyal to the Syrian Ba'ath Party government and those seeking to oust it. The conflict began on 15 March 2011, with popular demonstrations that grew nationwide by April 2011. These demonstrations were pa... Explore this topic

Turkey

Turkey, officially the Republic of Turkey, is a transcontinental country, located mostly on Anatolia in Western Asia and on East Thrace in Southeastern Europe. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armen... Explore this topic

Syria

Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south and Israel to the southwest. A country of fertile plains, high mountains and deserts, i... Explore this topic

Turkish Armed Forces

The Turkish Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. They consist of the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force. The Gendarmerie and the Coast Guard, both of which have law enforcement and military functions, operate as components of the internal security for... Explore this topic

Border town

A border town is a town or city close to the boundary between two countries, states or regions. Usually the term implies that it is one of the things the town is most famous for. Border towns can have highly cosmopolitan communities, a feature they share with port cities. They... Explore this topic

Civilian casualties

Civilian casualties is a military term describing civilian or non-combatant persons killed, injured, or imprisoned by military action. The description of civilian casualties includes any form of military action regardless of whether civilians were targeted directly. This diffe... Explore this topic

Border

Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen... Explore this topic

NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree... Explore this topic

Also See

Syria-Turkey relations

Akçakale

Syrian Civil War