TURKEY: Chief of General Staff General Necdet Ozel visits the town of Akcakale and meets families who lost relatives when a mortar bomb fired from Syria hit their homes

Record ID: 863544

  • Title: TURKEY: Chief of General Staff General Necdet Ozel visits the town of Akcakale and meets families who lost relatives when a mortar bomb fired from Syria hit their homes
  • Date: 11th October 2012
  • Summary: AKCAKALE, TURKEY (OCTOBER 10, 2012) (REUTERS) TURKISH CHIEF OF STAFF GENERAL NECDET OZEL BEING GREETED BY LOCAL VILLAGERS AND OFFICIALS VARIOUS OF GENERAL OZEL SEATED WITH A MAN WHO LOST HIS WIFE AND CHILDREN VARIOUS OF GENERAL OZEL AND VILLAGERS LISTENING TO QU'RAN BEING READ VARIOUS OF GENERAL OZEL INSPECTING THE DAMAGED HOUSE HIT BY A MORTAR BOMB GENERAL OZEL WALKING WITH OFFICIALS CONVOY OF CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF DRIVING ALONG THE BORDER CROSSING
  • Embargoed: 26th October 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Turkey
  • City:
  • Country: Turkey
  • Topics: Conflict,Defence / Military
  • Reuters ID: LVAD6AMVUSIICT2Y0DMBGE8568P1
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: Turkey's Chief of General Staff, General Necdet Ozel visited the southern town of Akcakale on Wednesday (October 10) where a mortar bomb fired from Syria hit a local house and killed five people last Wednesday (October 3).
    General Ozel met relatives of those who were killed in the strike and inspected the houses that were hit by the bomb.
    After the first fatal mortar strike, there were six consecutive days of Turkish retaliation against incoming bombardment from northern Syria, where President Bashar al-Assad's forces have been battling rebels who control swathes of land close to the Turkish frontier.
    Turkey's military has maintained a high security presence along the border throughout the strikes.
    Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey does not want war, but warned Syria not to test its resolve.
    The continued exchanges are the most serious cross-border violence in Syria's revolt against Assad, which began in March last year with protests for reform but has evolved into a civil war with sectarian overtones which threatens to draw in regional powers.
    NATO member Turkey was once an ally of Assad's but turned against him after his violent response to the uprising in which activists say 30,000 people have died.
    Turkey has nearly 100,000 Syrian refugees in camps on its territory, has allowed rebel leaders sanctuary and has led calls for Assad to quit.
    Editorial Restrictions: NONE
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
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