REYHANLI, Turkey: Damascus on Sunday denied accusations it was behind twin car bomb attacks that left at least 46 people dead in a Turkish town near the Syrian border, as Ankara arrested nine people in the probe.
Cranes were seen lifting debris from buildings destroyed by Saturday’s blasts in Reyhanli, one of the main Turkish hubs for Syrian refugees and rebels.
The attack was the deadliest to hit Turkey since the Syria conflict began two years ago and apparently provoked a backlash against Syrian refugees as dozens of Syrian cars were wrecked by what local people said were rampaging crowds.
Ankara was quick to blame the Syrian regime for the bloodshed, a claim rejected by Damascus on Sunday.
“Syria did not commit and would never commit such an act because our values would not allow that,” Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi said at a press conference broadcast by state television.
“It is (Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip) Erdogan who should be asked about this act… He and his party bear direct responsibility,” he added.
On Saturday, Turkey’s Interior Minister Muammer Guler said the government had identified the attackers.
“We have established that they are linked to groups supporting the Syrian regime and its intelligence services,” he told national TRT television.
On Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay announced Sunday that “nine people have been held for questioning” over the bombings, adding there have been confessions.
Huseyin Celik, vice president of Turkey’s ruling AKP party, said on NTV television meanwhile that the twin blasts had killed at least 46 people and left 51 in hospital.
Turkey, a member of NATO, distanced itself from its erstwhile ally soon after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad started cracking down on pro-democracy protests in 2011.
Ankara has since become a rear base for the Syrian rebellion and Damascus has already been blamed for a string of attacks on Turkish soil.
Atalay said the perpetrators of Saturday’s attacks did not appear to have crossed into Turkey from Syria but were already in the country.
Guler said the regional governor had been sent to Reyhanli “to put the necessary security measures in place”.
The attack sowed panic in Reyhanli, a town of about 60,000 people.
“I heard the first blast, walked out, thinking it was a missile being fired from Syria. Then I found myself on the ground, my arms and right leg hurting, my ears ringing. It must have been the second bomb,” said Hikmet Haydut, a 46-year-old coffee shop owner who survived the blast with minor injuries to his head and body. “I am alive, but all I have is gone,” he added.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, on a visit to Berlin, said it was “not a coincidence” that the bombings occurred as international diplomatic efforts to solve the Syrian crisis were intensifying.
“Nothing will go unanswered,” added Davutoglu, vowing the culprits would be brought to justice.
The United States and Russia, one of the few remaining supporters of Assad’s regime, pledged this week to relaunch efforts to solve the conflict, which the United Nations estimates has killed 70,000 people since March 2011.
— International condemnation —
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who earlier this month branded Assad a “butcher”, is due to meet US President Barack Obama in Washington on Thursday.
The West swiftly denounced the attacks.
French President Francois Hollande condemned them “in the strongest possible terms” while UN leader Ban Ki-moon said the perpetrators must be “brought to justice”.
US Secretary of State John Kerry also condemned the “awful news” and said it struck “an especially personal note for all of us given how closely we work in partnership with Turkey, and how many times Turkey’s been a vital interlocutor at the centre of my work as secretary of state these last three months”.
Meanwhile, the Syrian opposition National Coalition said the attacks were designed to drive a wedge between Turks and Syrians and echoed Ankara’s claims that supporters of Assad were behind the carnage.
“What happened in Reyhanli… proves the extent of this murderous regime’s criminality, and of the danger it poses to its neighbours, peace and stability in the region,” said the SNC.
Earlier, the opposition said the bombings were “a desperate and failed attempt to sow discord” with Turkey, which is hosting at least 326,000 Syrian refugees.
Reyhanli lies in southern Turkey near the Cilvegozu crossing opposite Syria’s rebel-controlled Bab al-Hawa border post, the busiest crossing between the two countries.
The border area has witnessed a number of deadly attacks as the conflict in Syria spills over into Turkey, whose government has become one of its harshest critics.
In February, a car bomb attack at Cilvegozu which Turkey blamed on Syrian intelligence agents killed 17 people and wounded 30.
Earlier this month, one police officer was killed and six other people wounded when Syrians trying to cross into Turkey opened fire in a border buffer zone.
Saturday’s attack came as Turkey ramped up its rhetoric against Assad, with Erdogan accusing the regime in Damascus of deploying chemical weapons, crossing a “red line” set by Obama.
“It is clear the regime has used chemical weapons and missiles,” he told NBC News on Thursday, without elaborating but urging the United States to take more action against Syria.
Dear TNT Reader,
At The News Tribe, our mission is to bring you free, independent, and unbiased news and content that keeps you informed and empowered. We are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism, as we understand that we are a platform for truth.
Apart from independent global news coverage, we also commit our unique focus on the Muslim world. In an age marked by the troubling rise of Islamophobia and widespread misrepresentation of Muslims in Western media, we strive to provide accurate and fair coverage.
But to continue doing so, we need your support. Even a small donation of 1$ can make a big difference. Your contribution will help us maintain the quality of our news and counteract the negative narratives that are so prevalent.
Please consider donating today to ensure we can keep delivering the news that matters. Together, we can make a positive impact on the world, and work towards a more inclusive, informed global society.
Donate Monthly Subscription Annual Subscription