Updated on
Summary Syria accused Turkey of hostility as it intercepted a passenger jet en route from Moscow.
Turkey stopped the passengers’ jet on suspicion it was carrying illegal cargo infuriating top Damascus ally Russia.As the tensions soared, rebels fighting forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad won more strategic territory in their bid to secure a buffer zone in a swathe of land abutting the Turkish border, an AFP reporter said.UN-Arab League peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi waded back into the Syrian fray, meanwhile, holding talks with officials in Saudi Arabia, which like Turkey has called for Assad to quit and supports the rebels.Turkey scrambled two jets on Wednesday to force down the Syrian Air Airbus A-320 en route from Moscow after reportedly receiving intelligence it was carrying military cargo for the Assad regime.Damascus said the interception was hostile and reprehensible and another sign of the hostile policies of the Erdogan government, which harbours (rebels) and bombs Syrian territory, referring to Turkish premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan.It furiously demanded Turkey return the cargo it had seized at Ankara airport.Russia, a top Damascus ally and its biggest arms supplier, said Ankara had put the lives of passengers at risk by forcing it to land in the Turkish capital, and denied it was carrying arms or military equipment.Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Ankara had seized illegal cargo from the plane, adding Turkey would hold on to the cargo for further investigation but declining to elaborate on the contents.Anatolia news agency quoted officials as saying they suspected the aircraft was carrying arms.There is illegal cargo on the plane that should have been reported in line with civil aviation regulations, Davutoglu said, quoted by Anatolia. There are elements on board that can be considered objectionable.Tensions have been running high between Ankara and Damascus since the eruption of the conflict in March 2011 and were inflamed after a series of shell strikes from Syria on Turkish soil, including one attack that killed five civilians last week.
