Located 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) southeast of Ankara, Ceylanpinar was once known for its gigantic agricultural complex. However, this city with a population of 40,000 is now yet another victim of the Syrian war. Since October 2012, four residents have been killed and dozens have been wounded by stray bullets, mortars and rockets.
From the beginning of the uprising in March 2011, Syria's Kurds vowed a "third way" - neither with Assad, nor with the insurgents. Theirs is a neutral position that has led to clashes with both sides, but in July 2012 they took over their stronghold areas, in the north of the country.
The YPG - the main Kurdish militia group - and the Free Syrian Army signed a ceasefire on July 12 in Ras al Ayn but Jabhat al-Nusra distanced iself from the truce.
Many local residents told DW that Ankara is hosting Jabhat al-Nusra fighters in a camp near an unchecked border crossing west of Ceylanpinar.
Ibrahim Polat, a local journalist for the Dicle News Agency, says the allegations are true and adds that Ankara's alleged backing of Islamists goes even further:
"During the last months hundreds of fighters have been taken by Turkish ambulances from Syria to Ceylanpinar hospital and those with more serious injuries were taken to Balikdigol hospital in Sanliurfa, the provincial capital. Kurdish militiaman are systematically rejected in the local hospitals so they are taken to Qamishlo, Syria's main Kurdish city," he told DW.
From his office, Musa Çeri, District Governor and member of the AKP, the ruling party in Turkey, dismisses such claims as "false rumors."
"It is ridiculous to believe that Turkey could possibly back terrorist groups of any kind. My government would never do such a thing," he told DW, adding that the government of Ankara is "only" struggling to address the ever-growing number of Syrian refugees on Turkish soil - over 200,000 according to UN figures. "Our religion, Islam, compels us to meet the people's needs," he says.
Nonetheless, he doesn't hide his concern for what he considers to be Turkey's "most pressing terrorist threat."
"The Syrian Kurdish fighters are nothing but a branch of the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers Party. If they finally get strong in their areas, they can easily conduct terrorists attacks against us across the border," he explains.
One of Ankara's biggest fears, he says, is a Kurdish autonomous region similar to that in northern Iraq on Syrian soil.
Read more: Al Qaeda's Turkish base? | World | DW.DE | 18.09.2013
From the beginning of the uprising in March 2011, Syria's Kurds vowed a "third way" - neither with Assad, nor with the insurgents. Theirs is a neutral position that has led to clashes with both sides, but in July 2012 they took over their stronghold areas, in the north of the country.
The YPG - the main Kurdish militia group - and the Free Syrian Army signed a ceasefire on July 12 in Ras al Ayn but Jabhat al-Nusra distanced iself from the truce.
Many local residents told DW that Ankara is hosting Jabhat al-Nusra fighters in a camp near an unchecked border crossing west of Ceylanpinar.
Ibrahim Polat, a local journalist for the Dicle News Agency, says the allegations are true and adds that Ankara's alleged backing of Islamists goes even further:
"During the last months hundreds of fighters have been taken by Turkish ambulances from Syria to Ceylanpinar hospital and those with more serious injuries were taken to Balikdigol hospital in Sanliurfa, the provincial capital. Kurdish militiaman are systematically rejected in the local hospitals so they are taken to Qamishlo, Syria's main Kurdish city," he told DW.
From his office, Musa Çeri, District Governor and member of the AKP, the ruling party in Turkey, dismisses such claims as "false rumors."
"It is ridiculous to believe that Turkey could possibly back terrorist groups of any kind. My government would never do such a thing," he told DW, adding that the government of Ankara is "only" struggling to address the ever-growing number of Syrian refugees on Turkish soil - over 200,000 according to UN figures. "Our religion, Islam, compels us to meet the people's needs," he says.
Nonetheless, he doesn't hide his concern for what he considers to be Turkey's "most pressing terrorist threat."
"The Syrian Kurdish fighters are nothing but a branch of the PKK, the Kurdistan Workers Party. If they finally get strong in their areas, they can easily conduct terrorists attacks against us across the border," he explains.
One of Ankara's biggest fears, he says, is a Kurdish autonomous region similar to that in northern Iraq on Syrian soil.
Read more: Al Qaeda's Turkish base? | World | DW.DE | 18.09.2013
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