ISTANBUL, Sept 30, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Turkey’s air force on Sunday downed an
unidentified drone on the Syrian border after it breached Turkish air space
multiple times, the defence ministry said.
The drone detected near the border by the military intruded into Turkish
airspace six times before it was finally shot down by F-16 jets.
“An unmanned aerial vehicle which violated our air space six times (on
Saturday)… was downed by two of our F-16s which took off from Incirlik” air
base in southern Turkey, the defence ministry said, sharing pictures of the
downed drone on its official Twitter account.
The ministry said the unknown aircraft was grounded at 1:24 pm (1024 GMT)
local time, adding: “The wreckage of the drone was found at the Cildiroba
base” by the Turkish gendarmerie in the Kilis province near the Syrian
border.
Turkey’s top national security council which brings together the country’s
civilian and military leaders is due to meet on Monday led by President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan. The Syria issue is expected to figure high on the agenda.
The Turkish air force shot down a Russian Su-24 aircraft in the Turkey-
Syria border area in 2015, sparking an unprecedented crisis in the two
countries’ relations.
That was condemned by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “stab in the
back” but the two countries later reconciled and worked together on the
Syrian crisis although they remain on opposite sides of the conflict.
Turkey backs rebels seeking the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad, while
Moscow is one of the few remaining allies of the regime in Damascus.
– US, Turkey deal –
Ankara has long been pressing for a safe zone between the Turkish border
and Syrian areas east of the Euphrates river controlled by the Syrian Kurdish
People’s Protection Units (YPG).
The two NATO allies, Turkey and the United States, reached a deal last
month to establish the planned scheme but Ankara is not satisfied with the
current state of talks with Washington.
Erdogan has repeatedly threatened to launch a cross-border offensive
against the YPG if the plans to realise a safe zone with Washington fail by
the end of this month despite the joint ground and aerial patrols.
He has warned his country’s preparations on the border ahead of a possible
operation have been completed.
The YPG is one of the major sticking points in Turkish-US ties.
The US views the YPG as a close ally in the fight against the Islamic
State (IS) group but Ankara says the YPG is a terrorist militia linked to the
outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has waged an insurgency inside
Turkey since 1984.
The Turkish military conducted two offensives in northern Syria against
the IS and Kurdish militia forces in 2016 and 2018.
– ‘Safe zone’ plan –
Erdogan planned to meet with US President Donald Trump on the margins of
the annual UN General Assembly meeting in New York this week but a bilateral
meeting did not take place. The Turkish leader only attended a reception
given by Trump for heads of state.
Erdogan has said up to three million Syrian refugees could be returned to
the safe zone — planned both to push Kurdish militia away from the border
and also to house Syrian refugees.
The country is already playing home to more than 3.6 million Syrian
refugees — the highest number in the world — and there have been signs of a
public backlash over their presence after eight long years of war in Syria.
Analysts however say the scheme for a safe zone planned to be 30
kilometres deep and run 480 kilometres (300 miles) along the north of Syria
is unrealistic as Washington is struggling to balance its ties with Ankara
and the Kurdish militia.