Istanbul
(AsiaNews / Agencies) - Tension rises between Damascus and Ankara. Today,
the Turkish army deployed six F16 fighters on the Syrian border, in response to
Syrian military helicopters flying too close to the border.
After
the shooting down of the Turkish jet on 22 June, Ankara has decided to
strengthen the defense on the 500 kilometer border with Syria, announcing
"zero tolerance" against the incursions of the army of Assad. In
addition to the military war planes sent in recent days, they are also sending missile batteries and armored vehicles.
For
16 months, the government in Ankara has supported the rebels of the Free Syrian
Army, formed precisely in Turkish territory, allowing them to take refuge in secret
camps, where today there are about 30 thousand refugees. Some
experts say the Turkish army, also provide the guerrillas weapons, equipment
and training.
Meanwhile,
the Syrian International Meeting held in Geneva on 30 June, attended by UN,
U.S., Europe, the Arab League countries - excluding Saudi Arabia - Russia and
China ended with a stalemate. The
conference was organized to re-examine the hypothesis of a transitional
government without Assad and the full implementation of the peace plan of Kofi
Annan. As
on other occasions Beijing and Moscow were against any attempt to overthrow Assad
without the consent of all the Syrian people. The
disappointing result of the meeting was also criticized by the opposition in
the Syrian press which emphasized that "the international community has
once again failed to adopt a common position to put an end to the Assad
regime's crimes against the Syrian people. The new
agreement contains blind spots that give another opportunity for the regime to
play with time to suppress a popular revolution and to silence the violence with
killings".