Militant Syrian 'Refugees' Test Turkey's Efforts to Stay Neutral
Allegations that some Syrian opposition forces are using refugee camps in Turkey as a haven to stage cross-border attacks are putting Turkish officials in a difficult position. Tülin Daloglu writes that their refusal to stop the incursions could give Syria a pretext to retaliate.
The longer the Syrian crisis continues, the harder it becomes for Turkey to turn a blind eye to the militant activities of the Syrian opposition on its soil. For a country that claims to be the rising regional power, the Turkish government is playing a poor game of geopolitical chess.
For example, there are serious and growing allegations that Syrian rebels are using refugee camps in Turkey that house 25,000 Syrian refugees as a haven for cross-border attacks. Members of the opposition Free Syrian Army (FSA) have told the media — both local and foreign — that they are crossing the border into Syria to fight Syrian forces, then return to safety in Turkey.
Speaking to Al-Monitor recently, a senior official at the office of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, “We neither control the Free Syrian Army nor allow them to do any hit-and-run strikes in Syria.”
Despite the denial, speculation mounts that such strikes are taking place with regularity.
