Turkey: World ‘silence’ on Syria to blame for attacks

BERLIN: Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu yesterday blamed the world community’s inaction on the Syrian conflict for the “barbarian act of terrorism” that claimed dozens of lives near the border in Turkey.
“The latest attack shows how a spark transforms into a fire when the international community remains silent and the UN Security Council fails to act,” he said during a Berlin visit.
He said it was time for the international community to take action against Syrian President Bashar Assad, with the security risks in Turkey and Syria’s other neighbors mounting.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan charged Sunday that Syria was dragging his country down a “vile path” with attacks.
“They want to drag us down a vile path,” Erdogan said at a rally in Istanbul, urging Turks to be “vigilant... and level-headed in the face of each provocation aimed at drawing Turkey into the Syrian quagmire.”
Meanwhile, authorities detained nine Turkish citizens believed to have links to the Syrian intelligence agency in connection with the car bombs that left 46 people, officials said yesterday, as Syria rejected allegations the country was behind the attack.
“This incident was carried out by an organization which is in close contact to pro-regime groups in Syria and I say this very clearly, with the Syrian mukhabarat,” said Interior Minister Muammar Guler.
Among the nine people detained overnight was the mastermind of the attack and more were expected, Guler said.
“We have determined that some of them were involved in the planning, in the exploration and in the hiding of the vehicles,” he said.
Guler said authorities had so far identified 35 people who died in the attack and three of them were Syrians. Turkish authorities determined that the nine were involved through their “testimonies and confessions,” according to Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay. He did not elaborate.
Earlier yesterday in Damascus, Syrian Information Minister Omran Al-Zoubi rejected Turkey’s charges that Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime was behind the bombs. “Syria didn’t and will never undertake such acts because our values don’t allow us to do this,” Al-Zoubi said.
He accused Turkey of destabilizing the border areas between the two countries.
“The Turkish government had turned the border areas into centers of international terrorism, as it is still facilitating the arrival of arms and explosives, improvised explosive devices, cars, money and murderers to Syria,” he said.