Car bombs kill 30 in Turkish town near Syrian border

Twin car bombs in the southern Turkish town of Reyhanli near the border with Syria killed more than 30 people yesterday, Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin said.

“The number of people who were killed or injured is more than 100 now. More than 30 people were killed, and the number of people injured has increased,” Ergin told Turkish broadcaster NTV.

Turkey supports the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said it was no coincidence the attacks in the town of Reyhanli came as diplomatic moves to end the conflict intensify.

“There may be those who want to sabotage Turkey’s peace, but we will not allow that,” Davutoglu told reporters during a trip to Berlin. “No-one should attempt to test Turkey’s power, our security forces will take all necessary measures.”

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Nato member Turkey has been one of Assad’s harshest critics and has harboured both Syrian refugees and rebels during the uprising against him, now in its third year.

Prospects appeared to improve this week for diplomacy over the civil war, in which more than 70,000 people have been killed, after Moscow and Washington announced a joint effort to bring government and rebels to an international conference.

But a Russian official said yesterday there was already disagreement over who would represent the opposition and he doubted if a meeting could happen this month.

Smoke rose above Reyhanli, which lies in Turkey’s southern Hatay province, after the blasts.

“We have around 20 dead and 46 people were injured, but we have to note that many of the injuries are severe, which means the death toll could unfortunately rise,” Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said in comments broadcast on Turkish television.

Erdogan said Turkey would support a US-enforced no-fly zone in Syria and warned that Damascus crossed President Barack Obama’s “red line” on chemical weapons use long ago. A no-fly zone to prohibit Syrian military aircraft from hitting rebel targets has been mentioned by American lawmakers as one option the US could use to pressure Assad.