Syria-bound trucks put spotlight on Turkey
Turkish opposition politicians and many in the public are questioning why trucks associated with Turkish intelligence may have been carrying arms to radical groups in Syria.
Already shaken by a debilitating corruption and bribery scandal, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is now confronted with another potential scandal involving weapons allegedly being supplied secretly by Turkey to the Syrian opposition, including radical elements that are under increasing international scrutiny.
Not wasting the opportunity, some opposition deputies are even going overboard and claiming that this affair will carry Erdogan and members of his government to the International War Crimes Tribunal in The Hague.
The topic flared up again after more Syria-bound trucks were intercepted by Turkish security forces on Jan. 19 following tip-offs which reportedly indicated their cargo contained illegal arms.
The government acted the way it did after a similar truck incident on Jan. 1, and also prevented the latest trucks to be intercepted from being searched on the grounds that they were part of a secret mission by the Turkish intelligence service (MIT) that could not be divulged.
