Turkey Plans Military Exercise on Syrian Border

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Source: WSJ

ISTANBUL—Turkey said on Tuesday it would hold military exercises close to the Syrian border and that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan would disclose steps to be taken against Damascus when he visits refugee camps in the area in the coming days.

The moves came as Col. Riad al As'ad, a former Syrian military officer, reported to have been detained by Turkey and handed over to Damascus, surfaced in Turkey and denied the reports.

The Turkish armed forces said on its website Tuesday that it would begin military exercises in Hatay province, close to the Syrian border, from Oct. 5 to Oct. 13. The exercise would involve a mechanized brigade and some 700 reservists and was routine, the website said.

"We cannot remain spectators to developments in Syria any longer. There are serious deaths and (attacks) against innocent, oppressed people," Mr. Erdoğan told reporters during a visit to South Africa on Tuesday, according to Turkey's state news agency, Anadolu Ajansi.

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204524604576610781937462842.html

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1. CNN: As relations sour, Turkey plans military exercise at Syrian border

As relations continue to deteriorate between neighbors Turkey and Syria, the Turkish armed forces announced Tuesday it will conduct a weeklong series of military exercises in a province along the Syrian border.

Some Middle East experts immediately interpreted the announcement as a warning to Damascus.

"Turkey is sending a signal to Syria," said Lale Kemal, a defense expert and Ankara bureau chief with the Turkish newspaper Taraf. "The irony is that it was only a few years ago as part of improved relations that Turkey and Syria started joint border maneuvers."

Over the last decade, once frosty ties between Ankara and Damascus dramatically improved. The two countries signed a free trade agreement, held joint Cabinet meetings and removed visa requirements from each others' citizens. But Turkey has watched the Syrian government's bloody crackdown on the country's six-month-old protest movement with growing concern.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/10/04/world/meast/turkey-syria-relations/