Turkey 'responds to fresh Syrian mortar fire'

BBC News online - 6 October 2012

Turkey has moved tanks into position around the border town of Akcakale

Turkey has fired into Syria for a fourth day after a Syrian mortar landed near a Turkish village, reports say.

Turkish troops responded immediately after the mortar landed near the village of Guvecci in Hatay province, according to Turkey's Anadolu Agency.

Turkey has been firing into Syria since Syrian mortar fire killed five Turkish civilians on Wednesday.
It was the first time Turkey has taken military action across the border since the Syrian uprising began.

Early on Saturday, the Anadolu Agency said the Syrian mortar had landed over the border during intense fighting between government troops and rebels in Syria's Idlib province.

The rebels are fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government in an uprising that began in March last year.

There were no immediate reports of casualties on the Turkish side.

Following the killing of two women and three children in the Turkish border town of Akcakale this week, Turkey's parliament authorised troops to launch cross-border operations against Syria and strike at Syrian targets for a period of one year.

The UN Security Council said the incident showed the "grave impact" of the Syrian crisis on "regional peace and stability".

On Friday, Turkey moved tanks and anti-aircraft missiles into Akcakale, though Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country did not want war.