TURKEY: Shells fired from Syria hit a health centre and homes in Hatay province

Record ID: 281506

  • Title: TURKEY: Shells fired from Syria hit a health centre and homes in Hatay province
  • Date: 23rd October 2012
  • Summary: REYHANLI, TURKEY (OCTOBER 23, 2012) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF HEALTH CENTRE, SIGN ON WALL INTERIOR OF CENTRE, BULLET HOLES IN WALL VARIOUS OF GLASS ON THE GROUND, BROKEN WINDOW LOCAL MAN HOLDING EMPTY SHELL (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) UNIDENTIFIED LOCAL MAN, SAYING: "I was sitting nearby and we heard an explosion before midday and we found this in the garden. It probably hit the w
  • Embargoed: 7th November 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: Conflict
  • Reuters ID: LVA4Z5KMGMOEEKH4M4F9BQ18OCKL
  • Story Text: An anti-aircraft shell fired from Syria hit a health centre across the border in the Reyhanli district of Turkey's Hatay province on Tuesday (October 23) but there were no immediate reports of injuries, CNN Turk television said.
    Shells also landed at homes near the health centre.
    A local man described what happened: "I was sitting nearby and we heard an explosion before midday and we found this in the garden. It probably hit the wall and fell into the garden afterwards. A plane flew around right after the explosion. I think it was a Turkish plane. Shells landed in many houses, not just ours. It [shelling] also hit this clinic."
    The Reyhanli district governor's office said it had no immediate information on the incident.
    Turkey has bolstered its military presence along its 900-km (560-mile) border with Syria and has been responding in kind to gunfire and mortar shells hitting its territory from fighting between Syrian rebels and government forces.
    Tension between the two neighbours, once close allies, is at its highest since Ankara turned against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad last year over his violent crackdown on anti-government protests.
    Turkish newspaper Milliyet said on Saturday that the Turkish military had fired on Syria 87 times, killing 12 Syrian soldiers and destroying several tanks in retaliation for Syrian shells and mortar bombs landing inside Turkey.
    Turkey's Chief-of-Staff General Necdet Ozel said this month that his troops would respond "with greater force" if shells continued to land on Turkish soil, and parliament has also authorised the deployment of troops beyond Turkey, heightening fears that Syria's civil war could drag in regional powers.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register