Turkey Considers Response to Violence in Syria

A grab made on 17 August 2011 from a handout video made available by Shaam News Network on its youtube channel, shows Syrian tanks stationed in the city of Homs, Syria. EPA/BGNES

The Security Council of Turkey has been convened Thursday by President Abdullah Gul to discuss security matters related with the ongoing violence in neighboring Syria.

Turkey, a traditional close political and trade ally of Syria, has been unprecedentedly sharp toward President Bashar Al-Assad, following the violent repression of popular pro-demoracy protests.

This has led some to speculate that Turkey might be willing to a military intervention in Syria, at least by creating a so-called "buffer zone" along the border withing Syrian territory.

Up to this point, official government Turkish sources have stated they are against an international armed intervention, but President Gul and PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan have repeatedly called on Assad to immediately desist in what they saw as criminal actions against his own people.

Security officials in Turkey are at present divided regarding the creation of the buffer zone, and the outcome Thursday's meeting might be indicative of the direction the country will be taking.

The Security Council meeting will also discuss measures against the upsurge in violence in the southeast provoked by the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK).

Meanwhile, in a phone conversation Syrian Presiden Bashar Al-Assad has said to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that Syrian army operations against protesters have been terminated.

The Human Rights Council of the UN will hold its second meeting devoted to violence in Syria Monday.

Thursday the Anatolian Agency has reported that the number of Syrian refugees to Turkey has dropped to some 7,000, with some 10,000 persons having returned to their home country.

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