Turkey: Syria Fires Again Across Border

Posted October 6th, 2012 at 9:45 am (UTC-5)
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Turkish state media say another round of mortar fire from Syria has landed in southern Turkey.

The Anatolian news agency says Turkish military returned fire Saturday after the mortar round landed in a rural area amid intense clashes on the Syrian side of the border in Idlib province.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Friday that Syria should not test Turkey's ability to strike back against continued cross-border attacks.

A Syrian attack on the Turkish town of Akcakale killed five civilians just days earlier. Following the attack, Turkish forces shelled Syrian targets, and Turkey's parliament authorized military operations outside its borders if necessary.

In Damascus Saturday, an aid shipment arrived from Russia to help with the humanitarian crisis.

“This is the fifth humanitarian shipment of aid to the Syrian people. This time the aid includes medical supplies and medicines.”

And in Aleppo to the north, citizens are continuing to cope with continued fighting for control of the country's most populous city.

A brigade commander for the rebel Free Syrian Army in Aleppo told VOA rebels had hoped to drive the government troops from the city, but have not had the resources to do so.

“Since the Eid at the end of Ramadan two months ago, we wanted to take all of Aleppo and reach Damascus, but the lack of ammunition and the rockets from the jet planes have prevented us.”

The Syrian government refers to rebels fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as “terrorists.”