Skip to main content

Explosive Message on Turkey’s Border

Cengiz Candar doesn’t expect Turkey’s response to the Reyhanli blasts, which killed 46 people, to go beyond tough rhetoric, despite its accusation that Syrian intelligence was behind the attack.
Relatives of Ahmet Uyan, 45, and Ahmet Ceyhan, 23, who were killed in yesterday's car bombings, mourn in the town of Reyhanli of Hatay province near the Turkish-Syrian border May 12, 2013. Turkey said on Sunday it believed fighters loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were behind twin car bombings that killed 46 people in a Turkish border town. Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said those involved in the bombings in Reyhanli on Saturday were thought also to have carried out an attack on the Syrian coast
Read in 

On May 11, two car bombs in the town of Reyhanli in the Hatay province on the western end of Turkey’s 911-km [566-mile] border with Syria — extending from the Mediterranean all the way to the Iraqi border — killed 46 people and wounded more than 100, of whom 29 seriously. The devastation went far beyond the scene of the attacks and dented Turkey’s credibility in the region and international arena.

Reyhanli is a border town almost a stone’s throw from Cilvegozu, the most active border crossing between Turkey and Syria. On Feb. 11, a bomb attack on the Turkish side of Cilvegozu killed two Turkish citizens. There were claims then that the bomb might have targeted Syrian opposition leaders who were expected to cross the border at that moment.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.