Turkish F16s intercept Syrian civilian flight from Moscow to Damascus

Source: Russia Today

Turkish F-16 fighter jets forced a Syrian Air passenger plane to land in Ankara over suspicions that it was carrying "non-civilian" cargo. The Damascus-bound plane, en route from Moscow, has departed after a nine-hour inspection.

The Airbus A-320, carrying around 30 passengers, was forced to land in Ankara’s international airport at 5:15 pm local time (3:15 pm GMT).

The aircraft, which belongs to Syrian Air, was intercepted as it entered Turkish airspace on its way from Moscow by F-16 jets and forced to land at the capital's Esenboga Airport. The Turkish authorities said that it detained the plane on the basis they suspected it to be carrying "certain equipment in breach of civil aviation rules."

The Turkish authorities were interested in some spare parts a businessman had purchased in Russia and was bringing to Syria, Fatima al-Saman, a passenger, told RT. She said that as far as she could tell, 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. It was clear ever to the untrained eye!”she said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu claimed that the plane and passengers were free to go after the initial search, but they had to spend several additional hours grounded as Turkish officials completed a “paperwork routine.” The plane’s crew and passengers told RT that the security units surrounding the plane were attempting to force the pilot and several of the crew to sign papers fraudulently describing the incident as an emergency landing. The Turkish authorities reportedly beat members of the crew who refused to sign the documents.

Al-Saman added that the search involved only luggage, and the passengers were mainly ignored by the Turkish forces. Russian diplomats who arrived at the airport were not allowed access to the passengers in violation of the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

“We are troubled that the lives of the passengers aboard the plane, including 17 Russian citizens were put at risk by this inappropriate act. Turkey did not inform Russia that Russian citizens were among those detained on the plane. We found this out through the press,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Aleksandr Lukashevich said.

The Turkish media speculated that the plane had been diverted on suspicions that it was transporting heavy weaponry. Later reports suggested that Turkey had seized military communications equipment and missile components. However, so far there have been no official confirmations of the contents of the cargo.

Ankara granted the Syrian plane a departure clearance, after Turkish security confiscated its “suspicious” cargo, said Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

The plane eventually departed Esenboga airport in Turkey at 2:30am local time and, after its nine-hour detour, arrived in Damascus an hour later at 12:30 GMT.

None of the passengers have commented on the incident since landing in Syria, and attempts to contact their cell phones have been unsuccessful.

The director of Syria's civil aviation agency told RT that the interception of the civilian plane and the search of its cargo compartment were a breach of the Convention on International Civil Aviation. She added that Turkey’s actions had endangered the lives of those on board the passenger plane.

Turkey is determined to stop any transfer of weapons to the Syrian government through its airspace, Davutoglu said Wednesday. The FM added that Turkey has every right under international law to investigate any civilian plane suspected to be carrying military equipment.

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.

Tensions between Turkey and Syria have escalated since a Syrian shell killed five civilians in the border town of Akcakale last week.

Arms wrangle

Western powers have repeatedly accused various countries of smuggling weapons into Syria and breaching an arms embargo imposed on Damascus by the EU.

On Wednesday, Iraq publicly denied allegations of providing its territory for use in the transport of arms from Iran to Syria. Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said Baghdad is performing random checks of aircraft from Iran to Syria and nothing has been found so far.

In March, the US and the UK lashed out at Iran, saying the country was supplying weapons to forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Damascus and Tehran immediately denied the allegations.

Russia has also been a suspect in the case. In June, a Russian cargo ship transporting three MI-25 helicopters, sailing from the Baltic port of Kaliningrad to Syria, was stopped off the coast of Scotland and forced to turn back after the vessel's insurer revoked its coverage.

Western media were quick to speculate about arms supplies from Russia to Syria, but Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov explained that the helicopters had been repaired by Russia for Syria under a 2008 agreement.

The Syrian rebels, on the other hand, are known to use financial backing from supporters including Saudi Arabia and Qatar to buy weapons on the black market. The rebels' supporters are also suspected of supplying weapons to them directly. This week, a BBC report showed footage of a crate with a label marking it as products manufactured by a Ukrainian firm and shipped to the Saudi military.

The US said it supports Syrian rebel forces with materiel including communication equipment, but stopped short of delivering arms due to the fear that they would end up in the hands of forces linked to al-Qaeda.

Turkey itself hosts a number of refugee camps for Syrians. Some media reports say the camps are used by the rebels for recruiting, receiving medical help and getting rest before going back into Syria to fight government forces.

There are also reports that Turkish officers lend their tactical skills to Syria's armed opposition. The rebels have too few trained officers among their ranks, and lack a proper military structure to fight on par with a regular army. Turkish generals are allegedly trying to close the gap, providing their clients with intelligence, communications and combat plans.

Turkey, once an ally of Syria, is now a vocal critic of the Assad government, while Damascus in not pulling any punches in condemning Turkish involvement in the Syrian conflict. In June the confrontation resulted in the deaths of two Turkish pilots. Their reconnaissance jet strayed into Syrian airspace and was shot down by air defense forces. The incident provoked a major scandal, with Turkey threatening to invoke its NATO membership and request that the alliance defend it.

Turkish artilleries have been busy recently shelling Syrian territory in response to daily mortar shots fired from across the border. Damascus offered its regrets after the second such incident, which killed four Turkish civilians. However, some Turkish opposition media reports blamed the mortar shots on the rebel forces, which ironically received the weapons from Turkey. Some observers say the continuing crossfire may be a rebel attempt to provoke a shooting war between Turkey and Syria.

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Russia calls on Turkey to explain forced landing of Syria plane

The Syrian Airbus A320 passenger plane was forced to land at Ankara airport on October 10, 2012.

Source: Press TV

Moscow has called on Ankara to explain the Turkish military’s move to force a Syria-bound passenger aircraft travelling from Russia to land in the Turkish capital.

“We are concerned that this emergency situation put at risk the lives and safety of passengers, who included 17 Russian citizens,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement on Thursday.

“The Russian side continues to insist on an explanation of the reasons for such actions by the Turkish authorities toward Russian citizens and to take measures to exclude such incidents in the future.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry also condemned the Turkish authorities for not informing the Russian embassy in Ankara of the incident and that there were Russian nationals among the passengers. “We found out about this from news websites,” the statement also read.

Russian embassy sent staff and a doctor to the airport and asked Turkish officials to allow access to the Russian citizens who were on board, but “Turkish authorities denied the diplomats a meeting with our compatriots, without an explanation,” the statement added.

The Russians were forced to stay inside the aircraft for eight hours without food and not allowed to go inside the airport, the statement added.

Turkish F-16 jets intercepted the Syrian Airbus A320 late on Wednesday and escorted it to Ankara’s Esenboga Airport.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the plane was grounded while flying in Turkey’s airspace based on information that it might be carrying “certain equipment in breach of civil aviation rules.”

The plane and all its passengers were allowed to leave Ankara nine hours after landing, Davutoglu said in a televised speech.

He also stated that Ankara would continue to intercept and investigate Syrian passenger aircraft using Turkey’s airspace.

The Turkish foreign minister added that the Syrian airspace was no longer safe and Turkish aircraft should not fly over the Arab country.

The plane incident comes amid intensified tensions between Ankara and Damascus, and Turkey’s war rhetoric against Syria.

The border tensions soared on October 3 after Syrian mortar shells landed in Turkey’s border town of Akcakale, leaving five people dead.

Ankara promptly responded with retaliatory fire that continued through the next days, and Turkish lawmakers also authorized the government to use military force against Syria when it deemed necessary.
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Syria: Erdogan keeps lying over plane

People speak atop the airstair of the Syrian passenger plane that was forced by Turkish jets to land at Esenboga Airport in Ankara in early Thursday, October 11, 2012

Source: Press TV

Syria has accused Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of "lying" in claiming that a Syria-bound passenger aircraft intercepted by Turkey was carrying arms to Damascus.

"The Turkish prime minister continues to lie in order to justify his government's hostile attitude towards Syria," read a Thursday statement by the Syrian Foreign Ministry, AFP reported.

Turkish F-16 jets intercepted the Syrian Airbus A320 flying over the Turkish airspace late on Wednesday and escorted it to Ankara’s Esenboga Airport. Erdogan has claimed that the plane was carrying "equipment and ammunition [which was being] shipped to the Syrian Defense Ministry."

Damascus has also condemned the move as "hostile and reprehensible" and "another sign of the hostile policies of the Erdogan government, which harbors [anti-Syria insurgents] and bombs Syrian territory."

Challenging the Turkish premier’s remarks, the Syrian Information Ministry has asked him to prove his allegation of weapon seizure."The plane did not carry ammunition or military equipment and Erdogan's comments lack credibility and he must show the equipment and ammunition at least to his people."

The United States rushed to Turkey’s support after Erdogan made the claim.

"We strongly support the government of Turkey's decision to inspect the plane," said US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland.

Meanwhile, an unnamed Russian source said, “Neither weapons nor any kind of systems or parts for military equipment were on board or could have been on board.”

Turkish authorities allowed the plane and its passengers to leave Ankara nine hours after landing, but they seized parts of the cargo.

The incident took place amid intensified tensions between Ankara and Damascus, and Turkey’s warlike attitude towards Syria.

Border tensions soared on October 3 after Syrian mortar shells landed in Turkey’s border town of Akcakale, leaving five people dead.

Ankara promptly responded with retaliatory fire that continued through following days, and Turkish lawmakers authorized the government to use military force against Syria “when deemed necessary.”