A Turkish fighter jet shot down a Syrian military helicopter on Monday after
it entered Turkish airspace and ignored repeated warnings to leave, an official
said.
The helicopter strayed two kilometres into Turkish airspace, but crashed inside Syria after being hit by missiles fired from the jet, Turkey’s deputy prime minister, Bulent Arinc, told reporters in Ankara.
Arinc said he did not have any information on the fate of the Syrian pilots, but Rami Abdul-Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said rebel fighters captured one of the pilots, while the fate of the other one was unclear.
The incident is bound to ramp up tension on an already volatile border.
Turkey has been at odds with the Syrian government since early in the country’s civil war and has backed the Syrian rebels, while advocating international intervention in the conflict.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, speaking in Paris after meetings about Syria with his counterparts from other countries, said Monday’s encounter should send a message.
“Nobody will dare to violate Turkey’s borders in any way again,” he said, according to Anatolia, the Turkish state-run news agency. “The necessary measures have been taken.”
Several military observers were questioning the validity of the Turkish report that the downed Syrian helicopter had been shot down in Turkish airspace.
rEAD MORE: Turkish warplane shoots down Syrian helicopter after airspace violation - The Globe and Mail
The helicopter strayed two kilometres into Turkish airspace, but crashed inside Syria after being hit by missiles fired from the jet, Turkey’s deputy prime minister, Bulent Arinc, told reporters in Ankara.
Arinc said he did not have any information on the fate of the Syrian pilots, but Rami Abdul-Rahman, director of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said rebel fighters captured one of the pilots, while the fate of the other one was unclear.
The incident is bound to ramp up tension on an already volatile border.
Turkey has been at odds with the Syrian government since early in the country’s civil war and has backed the Syrian rebels, while advocating international intervention in the conflict.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, speaking in Paris after meetings about Syria with his counterparts from other countries, said Monday’s encounter should send a message.
“Nobody will dare to violate Turkey’s borders in any way again,” he said, according to Anatolia, the Turkish state-run news agency. “The necessary measures have been taken.”
Several military observers were questioning the validity of the Turkish report that the downed Syrian helicopter had been shot down in Turkish airspace.
rEAD MORE: Turkish warplane shoots down Syrian helicopter after airspace violation - The Globe and Mail
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