Turkish Vice Prime Minister Bulent Arinc yesterday said the shooting down of a fighter jet was a “hostile act of the highest order” by Syria and claimed a rescue plane was also attacked.
It is a hostile act of the highest order
Mr Arinc also told a news conference after a Cabinet meeting to discuss Friday’s incident, which has fuelled fresh tensions between the once close neighbours, that Ankara could halt power supplies to Damascus.
“To target an aircraft in this fashion without any warning is a hostile act of the highest order,” he said, adding that the F-4 Phantom was struck by a heat-seeking guided missile.
He also said Syrian troops opened fire on a rescue plane searching for the pilots, but did not specify when.
“One of our Casa planes took off with a rescue team. Unfortunately, shots from the ground targeted our plane.
“Our foreign ministry and our military command notified Syrian authorities and this harassment ceased immediately,” Mr Arinc said.
The Nato alliance is holding an emergency meeting on Friday’s incident in Brussels today at the request of member nation Turkey. Mr Arinc warned that Ankara could switch off power exports, saying: “We have considered that for humanitarian reasons one should supply electricity to Syria so that the daily lives of the people are not affected.
Meanwhile, eight Syrian army officers – including a general – fled to Turkey overnight to join the swelling ranks of rebels based near the border, a Turkish diplomat said yesterday as tensions escalated between the two neighbours.
The general, two colonels and five other army officers including two majors, accompanied by their 24 family members, crossed into Turkey late on Sunday, the diplomat said.
Turkey’s Anatolia news agency had initially put the number at 33 defectors – the general, two colonels and 30 soldiers.
In addition to the defectors, 28 Syrian civilians, mostly women and children, fled to Turkey and were taken to a camp in Sanliurfa province near the border, reported Anatolia.
But the defectors, together with their families, were taken to Apaydin camp in Hatay province, some four kilometres from the border, which mainly houses army deserters and their families.
The Turkish foreign ministry has barred access to the camp for journalists, blocking any interviews with the rebels or photo coverage. It is not known what the defectors do in the camps but sources say they leave regularly to help other refugees make the hazardous trip across the border.
But the diplomat said most of the defectors preferred to remain inside the camp for security reasons, adding that they were leading regular lives just like ordinary individuals.