Cyprus

Turkish army in exercises near Syria border, close to Kurdish stronghold

by fm

1st August 2012

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1 min read

Turkey's army staged tank exercises near the Syrian border on Wednesday, media reports said, in a move highlighting Ankara's unease about security on the frontier as the conflict widens on the other side of its southern border.

The exercises were held after a series of Turkish military deployments to the area prompted by the spiralling violence in the 17-month uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Some 25 tanks from the Mardin 70th Mechanised Brigade took part in the exercises, which were overseen by commanders in the Nusaybin district of Mardin province, just 2 km from the Syrian border, Dogan news agency said.

The Syrian city of Qamishli is immediately across the border from Nusaybin. Ankara is concerned about reports that a Kurdish group linked to militants of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) is exerting control in Kurdish areas of northern Syria.