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Turkish main opposition leader warns over military strike in Syria

Arab World Materials 21 March 2014 09:17 (UTC +04:00)
Turkish main opposition leader warns over military strike in Syria
Turkish main opposition leader warns over military strike in Syria

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu has called on Chief of General Staff Gen. Necdet Ozel "not to embark on an adventure" with a military intervention in Syria to protect the tomb of Suleyman Sah Hurriyet Daily News reported.

Speaking to Samanyolu Haber television on March 19, Kılıcdaroglu said reports about possible attacks on the tomb had started to appear in newspapers as the March 30 local elections approach.

"It is 30 kilometers from our border. He [Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan] could decide to move the army into Syria before the elections. I'd like to address the chief of General Staff: Don't send Turkey on an adventure. Especially when there is a shady prime minister in charge, who also jailed the previous chief of General Staff as a terrorist," Kılıcdaroglu said.

Kılıcdaroglu argued that no Syrian group had attacked the tomb, but that "a provocation can happen." He said he received "some unconfirmed information" and warned that "everyone should be very careful."

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu reiterated last week that Turkey has the right to take all precautions to protect the tomb following clashes around the shrine, which is recognized as Turkish territory.

The tomb for Suleyman Sah, the founder of the Seljuk Empire in Anatolia who died in 1086, is located in the governorate of Aleppo.

Two Turkish F-16 fighter jets are reportedly on duty to protect the tomb, from either Syrian government forces or the al-Qaeda-affiliated Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

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