It has been four months since Al-Monitor published the article “Are Turkish troops trapped at Syrian tomb?” We have been seeing frequent news reports that Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga forces fighting at Kobani are rotated every two months. But interestingly, we don't see any reports on the rotation of the Turkish troops guarding the Tomb of Suleiman Shah, which is considered to be sovereign Turkish territory in Syria. The same soldiers who were deployed at the tomb at the end of April 2014 are still guarding it 11 months later.
The question is how come these elite troops of the Turkish Special Forces have not been rotated after 11 months, despite their service under highly stressful, rough and uncertain conditions. The first explanation one hears plays to the pride of Turkish nationalists and generals. After all, they feel these soldiers are so well trained and used to serving under difficult conditions that there is no need to rotate them. A retired special forces colonel who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity said, “These are tough guys, very experienced and disciplined. They can survive in any challenging environment. They have been trained for these harsh physical and mental conditions.”
