Nato calls emergency meeting as Turkey returns fire on Syria

In a tense statement, the office of Turkey’s Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, condemned shelling that hit the Turkish town of Akcakale, killing five residents and wounding a dozen others yesterday.

The shelling appeared to come from Syrian government forces who were fighting Syrian rebels backed by Turkey, which has called for the ousting of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The statement said: “Our armed forces at the border region responded to this atrocious attack with artillery fire on points in Syria that were detected with radar, in line with the rules of engagement.

“Turkey, acting within the rules of engagement and international laws, will never leave unreciprocated such provocations by the Syrian regime against our national security.”

Turkey’s NTV television said Turkish radar pinpointed the positions from where the shells were fired on Akcakale, and that those positions were hit.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said: “Turkey is a sovereign country. There was an attack on its territory. There must certainly be a response in international law.”

He said: “I hope this is Syria’s last craziness. Syria will be called into account.”

In Belgium, Nato’s National Atlantic Council, composed of the national ambassadors, held an emergency meeting in Brussels last night at Turkey’s request to discuss the cross-border incident.

Turkey was likely to receive an expression of support from the alliance, although any imminent move by the Nato members to intervene militarily seemed remote.

Nato also held an emergency meeting when a Turkish jet was shot down by Syria in June.

A Nato official said the meeting in Brussels was being held under a treaty article that states “the parties will consult whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence, or security of any of the parties is threatened”.

Turkey, a Nato ally, is anxious to avoid going into Syria on its own.

The Syrian shelling of Turkey took place as more than 30 people were killed and dozens wounded after a series of explosions in a government-controlled area of the battleground Syrian city of Aleppo.

Three suicide bombers detonated cars packed with explosives in the city’s main square yesterday, while a fourth explosion struck a few hundred yards away near the Old City and the Chamber of Commerce.

A military officer’s club and hotel being used by the military in Saadallah al-Jabri square bore the brunt of the attacks.

Over the past two months fierce fighting between rebels, who are attempting to overthrow President Assad, and government forces has erupted in Aleppo, which is Syria’s largest city and acts as the country’s main commercial hub.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blasts, which the government blamed on its opponents, while reports have surfaced that suggest regime forces are now preparing for a major offensive.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists on the ground, reported dozens of casualties from the blasts, most of them members of the regime forces.

One shaken resident said: “It was like a series of earthquakes.

“It was terrifying, terrifying.”

The bombing technique is a signature style of al-Qaida-style jihadist groups, some of which are known to have entered Syria’s 
civil war to fight against the regime.

But the Syrian opposition denies any links to terrorists or any use of suicide attacks.