Ankara suspected of arming jihadists in Syria
Turkish security discovered a truck full of weapons en route to Syria, creating yet another controversy for the Erdogan government.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is already having to cope with a major scandal that has severely undermined his claim of being a relentless fighter against corruption in high places, is now faced with a fresh crisis involving Syria that has the potential to not only further undermine his credibility but also damage Turkey’s ties with its Western allies.
The latest debacle follows a scoop by mass circulation daily Hurriyet involving a truck laden with weapons said to be heading for Syria. The story broke a few days after the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad filed a complaint with the UN Security Council alleging that Turkey was supporting anti-government militants in Syria.
Syria’s ambassador to the UN, Bashar Jaafari, claimed in a letter to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, which was released to the press on Jan. 1, “Turkish authorities are systematically offering help in supplying arms to terrorists operating in a number of districts [in Syria].”
“They support the groups which every day carry out terrorist attacks against the Syrian people, government buildings and other infrastructure facilities,” Jaafari wrote. The letter continued, “They were trained on the border with Syria, after which the Turkish authorities helped them penetrate the neighboring country.”
