Turkish F16s intercept Syrian civilian flight from Moscow to Damascus
RT NEWS
October 11, 2012
A Syrian passenger plane which was forced to land sits at Esenboga airport in Ankara October 10, 2012. (Reuters/Cem Oksuz/Anadolu Agency)
Turkish F-16 fighter jets forced a Syrian airline passenger plane to land in Ankara over suspicions it was carrying "non-civilian" cargo. The Damascus-bound plane, which had departed from Moscow, has departed after a nine-hour inspection.
Ankara has granted the Syrian plane a departure clearance, after Turkish security confiscated its suspicious cargo, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told a local broadcaster.
“Just because of the clear evidence that we received, we negotiated with our prime minister and decided to let the plane fly on to Syria with the passengers, but we are going to hold on to the material because of the ongoing investigation and the next steps,” he said. “Our investigation is continuing. Since there might be materials that were supposed to be declared but have not been, we are holding this material in our hands to continue to inspect.”
Earlier, Davutoglu said that Ankara had received intelligence that the Syrian plane was carrying "certain equipment in breach of civil aviation rules," but refused to comment on the presumed content.
The Turkish authorities were interested in some spare parts, which a businessman bought in Russia and was transporting to Syria, passenger Fatima Al-Saman told RT. She said they were clearly not weapons.
“They started unloading some packages. They opened them, took pictures. There were many people. We all saw what was in there. There were no weapons. You could see it with an unaided eye!” she said.
Al-Saman added the search involved only luggage, and the passengers were mainly ignored by the Turks. Russian diplomats arrived at the airport but were reportedly not allowed to meet with the passengers.
[...]
The Airbus, which belongs to Syrian Air, was intercepted on its way from Moscow by F16 jets and forced to land at the capital's Esenboga Airport as it entered Turkish airspace.
Turkey is determined to stop any transfer of weapons to Syrian administration through its airspace, Davutoglu said Wednesday. The FM added that Turkey has every right under the international law to investigate any civilian plane suspected to be carrying military materials.
Meanwhile, Ankara has banned Turkish passenger flights from entering Syrian airspace.
"All civilian flights in Syrian airspace have been stopped since it is no longer safe," the ministry added in their Wednesday statement. A Turkish plane that had already taken off for Saudi Arabia made a detour and landed at the Adana airport, reports Today's Zaman newspaper.
17 Russians, including kids, onboard – Russian Foreign Ministry to RT
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said diplomats are already heading to the airport and sent an information request to the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
“The preliminary information is that out of 35 passengers, there may be 17 Russians on board, children among them,” Maria Zakharova, the chief of the Foreign Ministry’s Information Department, exclusively told RT.
Tensions between Turkey and Syria have escalated since a Syrian shell killed five civilians in the border town of Akcakale last week...
(click here to read the full article and view pictures)
No comments:
Post a Comment