Turkish fighters jets forced down a Syrian passenger plane that it suspected was carrying weapons to the Assad regime from Russia last night and reportedly seized suspicious cargo.
A Syrian passenger plane is seen after it was forced to land at Ankara airport, Turkey Photo: Cem Oksuz/EPA
By Richard Spencer, Middle East Correspondent, Barney Henderson and Ruth Sherlock
7:22PM BST 10 Oct 2012
The plane was on a flight from Moscow before F16 fighter jets were scrambled to force it to land at Ankara airport, amid continuing tensions between Turkey and Syria.
A “thorough search” of the aircraft was carried out and NTV reported that cargo believed to be missile parts were seized. Other reports stated that military communications devices were seized. The plane was awaiting Ankara’s approval to take off again with its 35 passengers.
“We received information that the plane’s cargo did not comply with rules of civil aviation,” said Ahmet Davutoglu, Turkey’s foreign minister.
There was information that it might be carrying “certain equipment in breach of civil aviation rules”, Mr Davutoglu, said.
The only plane scheduled to leave Moscow for Syria on Wednesday was a Syrian Arab Airlines flight, RB442, to Aleppo, which is being bitterly contested by regime and rebel troops.
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Its airport remains open despite rebel attacks nearby. RB442 was recorded on flight-tracking websites as delayed last night, with its last recorded position heading from the Crimea into Turkey.
A second passenger plane was forced to land in the Turkish city of Adana, said Louay al-Mokdad, a spokesman for the rebel Free Syrian Army, citing Turkish government sources. That plane was also waiting for Turkish permission to take off again for its destination in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Ankara warned Turkish airline companies against using Syrian airspace to avoid a possible retaliation from Damascus.
Russia has vetoed attempts to impose international sanctions on Syria at the United Nations Security Council, including an arms embargo.
Turkey is allowing its own borders to be used for shipments of weapons to the opposition from Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Russia is likely to protest strongly against its latest action as one-sided, particularly if no weapons are found.
Even if that is the case, the Turkish action is another example of the squeeze being applied to the Assad regime by its neighbours.
Turkey has bombarded Syrian positions with artillery several times in the past week in response to Syrian shells that crossed over the border.
Turkey’s chief of staff said his troops would respond with greater force if bombardments from Syria kept hitting Turkish territory.
“We responded but if it continues we will respond with greater force,” General Necdet Ozel said, according to state television.
Meanwhile, American officials confirmed that a detachment of 150 US troops is now operating in Jordan less than 35 miles from the Syrian border.
The troops are intended in the first instance to help Jordan, a key but fragile US ally, deal with the influx of refugees from the fighting across the northern border. They are also preparing for any action that might be needed to secure Syria’s chemical weapons in the event of the Assad regime losing control of them.
But officials also told The New York Times that the possibility of a buffer zone in southern Syria, enforced by Jordanian troops with American logistical support, had also been discussed. Jordan as well as its neighbours is deeply concerned at the threat of the Syrian war spilling over its borders.
The American troops have been stationed at a Jordanian military base north of Amman about 35 miles from the border since the end of a major joint exercise called Operation Eager Lion. There have been reports before that troops pulled out of Iraq stayed in neighbouring Jordan as a buffer force, but this is the first confirmation of a deployment directly attributed to the Arab Spring.
In Libya, western nations including the United States supplied air power to help the rebels, but “boots on the ground” were limited to a small number of British and French special forces offering training and support.
The US, like Britain and other Nato countries, has refused to send military support to the Syrian rebels despite their calls for President Bashar al-Assad to step down, though the CIA are believed to be in southern Turkey helping to assess rebel recipients of military supplies sent by Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
The Jordanian deployment, confirmed by US defence officials in Brussels, also comes at a time of protests against the rule of King Abdullah, seen as an important pro-western buffer between Israel, with which Jordan is one of two Arab nations to have diplomatic relations, and other countries in the region.
King Abdullah on Wednesday appointed a new prime minister, Abdullah Ensour, to implement constitutional reforms he has put forward in response to the protests and to prepare the way for parliamentary elections next year.
At least 200,000 refugees from Syria have crossed into Jordan, with more than 30,000 at the giant Zaatari refugee camp. Residents there have staged protests and even riots over conditions.
Jordan fears that militants now known to be aiding the Syrian rebels, to whom Jordan has offered moral support, might use the cover of the conflict and its refugees to cross over the border themselves.
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