A Turkish F-16 prepares to taxi while another one takes off during at 3rd Main Jet Air Base near the central Anatolian city of Konya, Turkey, 2009.
Turkey confiscated cargo on a Syrian passenger plane amid unconfirmed media reports that weapons parts and military communications gear had been discovered.
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Turkish F-16 jets forced the airplane traveling from Moscow to Damascus to land after intelligence reports said it was carrying cargo banned by civil-aviation rules, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said yesterday.
The aircraft was carrying about 30 passengers and some undisclosed cargo, Davutoglu said in an interview broadcast by TGRT television from Athens, without describing the equipment. The plane, an Airbus A320 operated by Syrian Airlines, was escorted to Ankara airport by the Turkish warplanes, the Istanbul-based Hurriyet newspaper said.
Authorities later discovered 12 or 13 “giant” crates of equipment destined for the Syrian armed forces, including communications gear and jammers, Hurriyet said. Milliyet newspaper reported today that the cargo included weapons, missile parts and communications gear. State-run TRT television said on its website today that authorities discovered military communications gear in two boxes, bearing the receiver as Syrian Defense Ministry. The news organizations didn’t say how they got the information.
“We are determined to control the flow of weapons to the regime in Syria, which is mercilessly massacring its people,” Davutoglu said on TGRT. “It is unacceptable to use Turkish airspace for such shipments.”
U.S. Intelligence
Turkey grounded the plane after receiving intelligence from the U.S., Milliyet newspaper said, without citing anyone. The plane was allowed to leave Turkey early today after the search was completed, state-run Anatolia news agency said.
Davutoglu refused to make further comments about the airplane when he arrived in Turkey early today, Anatolia said.
There have been six days of artillery exchanges across the border between Turkey and Syria triggered by the deaths of five Turkish civilians after a mortar shell landed in a frontier village on Oct. 3. The following day, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan received authorization from parliament to send troops into Syria if considered necessary.
Russia’s government said about half the passengers on the plane forced to land were its citizens, including some children. Turkish authorities searched the plane for weapons for several hours without finding anything, a Russian official said.
Russia demanded an explanation about the incident from Turkey’s Foreign Ministry, and consulate officials went to the Ankara airport to meet with the Russian citizens and ensure their security and rights, according to a Foreign Ministry official who discussed the matter on condition of anonymity.
Putin Visit
Russian President Vladimir Putin had been due to visit Turkey on Oct. 14. He postponed the trip until November due to a busy schedule, the Turkish prime minister’s office said yesterday.
Flight SRY442 was being monitored before it entered Turkish airspace and was intercepted based on intelligence, Davutoglu said. Turkey also suspended all flights by its aircraft to Syria, state-run TRT television reported, citing civil-aviation authorities.
The foreign minister said “there are elements other than legitimate elements which should also be reported on civilian flights,” according to Anatolia.
Turkey will apply international law should it find any weapons on the plane, and scrutiny of Syrian civil flights will continue, Davutoglu said. The incident isn’t expected to affect Turkish relations with Russia, he said.
Turkish Threat
Turkey is hosting 100,000 Syrian refugees, including many members of the rebel Free Syrian Army that’s been fighting forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The fighting has claimed more than 30,000 lives in 19 months, according to the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The chief of staff of Turkey’s armed forces, General Necdet Ozel, said Turkey will retaliate more harshly should Syrian shells again land on Turkish soil. He made the comments as he inspected troops in Akcakale, the village where the Turkish civilians were killed on Oct. 3, CNN-Turk television said.
At least 14 Syrian soldiers have died in Turkish retaliatory fire into the country in the past six days, Al Arabiya reported yesterday.
Syria isn’t seeking a military confrontation with Turkey and is investigating the shelling that caused the five deaths, Jihad Makdissi, Syria’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, said yesterday by phone.
“Syria is in a self-defensive mode and we will act accordingly,” he said. “What happened was an incident, not an attack. This incident is because of the presence of armed groups in that area.”
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