The twin car bombings in the Turkish town of Reyhanli near the Syrian border has put the Syria policy being pursued by Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government under the most intense public scrutiny since the start of the Syrian crisis more than two years ago.

The pressure on the government was apparent in the defensive manner Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu immediately lambasted critics of his government following the bombings.  “Let me put it frankly those who are trying to show Turkey as having pursued the wrong policy (on Syria) are committing a crime against humanity,” Davutoglu told reporters in Berlin.

His statement showed that the government was aware, as soon as news of the atrocity broke, that it would be facing intense public criticism and reflected a pre-emptive effort at trying to deflect this criticism and to disarm it through exaggerated rhetorical remarks. Davutoglu is nevertheless faced with a serious dilemma because the anger of a public already wary about the government’s Syrian policy is bound to increase incrementally now.

Anti-government protests are already reported in Antakya, the regional capital of Hatay Province, where the town of Reyhanli is located, as well as in Reyhanli itself. Opposition politicians visiting the region, as well as journalists reporting from there, are warning that tension is rising across the province. The mixed population of Hatay includes a large section of Turkey’s Alevis, to use the local spelling of their name, who have ties to Syria’s Calamities.