EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton declared herself “shocked” after twin car bombs exploded in the Turkish border town of Reyhlanli claiming the lives of 46 people Saturday.
Pointing the finger of responsibility at neighbouring Syria, whose two year-long civil war has increasingly threatened to engulf former ally Turkey, Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on his people to remain calm “in the face of provocations”.
Refraining from speculating on the responsible party, however, Ashton did not shy away from naming the incident as a terror attack in her official statement Sunday, as she condemned the high death toll and expressed the EU’s “full solidarity with the Government and people of Turkey at this difficult time”, committed European resources to aid the country in dealing with the aftermath of the largescale attack.
Reiterating the message of solidarity Sunday, European Parliament President Martin Schulz condemned the attack on aspiring EU member Turkey, which he heralded as “an ally, partner and candidate country for EU membership who is dealing with a tragic conflict on its border,” implying Syrian involvement in the incident.
“This extreme violence and loss of life is deeply shocking. We offer our condolences to the families of the victims and support to the Turkish authorities and people,” he added.
As more than 50 Turkish citizens remained hospitalised as a result of injuries sustained in the attack on the border town that has been home to ever-increasing numbers of Syrian refugees fleeing the crisis at home, Turkish Interior Minister Muammar Guler told media unequivocally that the “incident was carried out by an organisation which is in close contact to pro-regime groups in Syria and I say this very clearly, with the Syrian Mukhabarat”.
Refuting the allegations Sunday, Syrian Information Minsiter Omran al-Zoubi told a press conference Bashar al Assad’s regime "did not commit and would never commit such an act because our values would not allow that", as he attempted to deflect responsibility onto Erdogan’s own administration, decrying the Turkish Premier as “a killer and a butcher” and calling for his resignation. Erdogan has been an outspoken critic of the Syrian regime and a staunch supporter of opposition forces, repeatedly calling on NATO to impose a no-fly zone over the beleaguered country.
Turkish police have claimed to have arrested nine people in connection with the attacks, although their identities have yet to be revealed.
French President Francois Hollande, who negotiated a diplomatic rapprochement with Turkey on entering office in 2012 having previously been mutually estranged under former President Nicolas Sarkozy’s leadership, expressed his “solidarity with the people and the Turkish authorities” in an official statement Saturday.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius confirmed Sunday he had met with his Turkish counterpart Ahmet Davitoglu for a specially convened meeting on the situation in Turkey in the aftermath of the previous day’s deadly attacks, as he “reiterated the solidarity of France to the Turkish people and authorities”, before both ministers committed to consulting closely with each other as the investigation into the incident unfolds in the coming days.
Last October, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen committed his organisation’s “solidarity” with Turkey in its ongoing border fracas with Syria, ahead of a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels Tuesday, as he revealed “we have all necessary plans in place to protect and defend Turkey if necessary”.
His comments came after Turkey’s military chief of staff General Necdet Ozel insisted Turkey would “respond with more force” should Syria continue to launch attacks on Turkish territory, as the country continued to reinforce the border with artillery guns and increased numbers of fighter jets.
Last June, following a special emergency meeting of NATO’s North Atlantic Council at Turkey’s request, Fogh Rasmussen delivered a statement slamming the “unacceptable” targeting of a Turkish military plane by Syria, which resulted in the deaths of both pilots.
Continuing to describe it as “another example of the Syrian authorities’ disregard for international norms, peace and security, and human life”, the statement stopped short of any clear commitment to action on the issue, instead emphasising “we continue to follow the situation closely and with great concern”.
Former close Syrian-ally Turkey accused its neighbour of “state terrorism” in a sharp downturn of the two countries’ relations following the plane incident. Erdogan, who has become an increasingly tough critic of authoritarian Syrian leader Bashar Assad later condemned the country as “the bleeding heart of humanity and the whole Islamic world”.
Turkey has long accused Syria of arming militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) rebels, with Erdogan expressing fears the ongoing Syrian conflict would strengthen the PKK’s authority in border regions.
Former Interior Minister Idrius Naim Sahin accused the PKK of being behind an attack on the Turkish border town of Gaziantep last August, which claimed the lives of nine Turkish civilians, as he insisted the incident had “links within and outside of Turkey”. The international community greeted a PKK declaration in March to disarm, with French FM Fabius describing the move as “a positive development for the future of Turkey after decades of conflict”. “We support efforts by the Turkish government, with all stakeholders to implement a peaceful solution that would allow Turkey to live in peace, democracy and prosperity,” he added.
Ashton echoed France’s statement, which was seen in some quarters as a move towards Turkey’s long awaited accession to EU membership, heralding the decision as “a further important step forward in the on-going process aimed at ending a conflict which has claimed far too many victims”.
The PKK, which Turkey, the US and the EU all classify as a terrorist organisation, had previously been accused of launching attacks on civilians in its long-running battle with Turkish forces.