Franchise registrations in Saudi Arabia surge 866% over 3 years    Lulu Saudi Arabia celebrates its 15th anniversary with the grand launch of 'Super Fest 2024'    Cristiano Ronaldo's double powers Al Nassr to 3-1 win over Al Gharafa in AFC Champions League    Culture minister tours Saudi pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka    Al Ahli edges Al Ain 2-1, bolsters perfect start in AFC Champions League Elite    Saud Abdulhamid makes history as first Saudi player in Serie A    Saudi Cabinet to hold special budget session on Tuesday    King Salman orders extension of Citizen's Account Program and additional support for a full year    Al-Falih: 1,238 foreign investors obtain premium residency in Saudi Arabia    Several dead as Storm Bert wreaks havoc across Britain    Irish PM apologizes for walking away from care worker    Most decorated Australian Olympian McKeon retires    Adele doesn't know when she'll perform again after tearful Vegas goodbye    'Pregnant' for 15 months: Inside the 'miracle' pregnancy scam    Hezbollah fires rocket barrages into Israel after deadly Beirut strikes    Ukraine losing ground in Russia's Kursk region, says military source    Do cigarettes belong in a museum?    Saudi Arabia to host 28th Annual World Investment Conference in Riyadh    Riyadh Emir inaugurates International Conference on Conjoined Twins in Riyadh    Katy Perry v Katie Perry: Singer wins right to use name in Australia    Order vs. Morality: Lessons from New York's 1977 Blackout    India puts blockbuster Pakistani film on hold    The Vikings and the Islamic world    Filipino pilgrim's incredible evolution from an enemy of Islam to its staunch advocate    Exotic Taif Roses Simulation Performed at Taif Rose Festival    Asian shares mixed Tuesday    Weather Forecast for Tuesday    Saudi Tourism Authority Participates in Arabian Travel Market Exhibition in Dubai    Minister of Industry Announces 50 Investment Opportunities Worth over SAR 96 Billion in Machinery, Equipment Sector    HRH Crown Prince Offers Condolences to Crown Prince of Kuwait on Death of Sheikh Fawaz Salman Abdullah Al-Ali Al-Malek Al-Sabah    HRH Crown Prince Congratulates Santiago Peña on Winning Presidential Election in Paraguay    SDAIA Launches 1st Phase of 'Elevate Program' to Train 1,000 Women on Data, AI    41 Saudi Citizens and 171 Others from Brotherly and Friendly Countries Arrive in Saudi Arabia from Sudan    Saudi Arabia Hosts 1st Meeting of Arab Authorities Controlling Medicines    General Directorate of Narcotics Control Foils Attempt to Smuggle over 5 Million Amphetamine Pills    NAVI Javelins Crowned as Champions of Women's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Competitions    Saudi Karate Team Wins Four Medals in World Youth League Championship    Third Edition of FIFA Forward Program Kicks off in Riyadh    Evacuated from Sudan, 187 Nationals from Several Countries Arrive in Jeddah    SPA Documents Thajjud Prayer at Prophet's Mosque in Madinah    SFDA Recommends to Test Blood Sugar at Home Two or Three Hours after Meals    SFDA Offers Various Recommendations for Safe Food Frying    SFDA Provides Five Tips for Using Home Blood Pressure Monitor    SFDA: Instant Soup Contains Large Amounts of Salt    Mawani: New shipping service to connect Jubail Commercial Port to 11 global ports    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Delivers Speech to Pilgrims, Citizens, Residents and Muslims around the World    Sheikh Al-Issa in Arafah's Sermon: Allaah Blessed You by Making It Easy for You to Carry out This Obligation. Thus, Ensure Following the Guidance of Your Prophet    Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques addresses citizens and all Muslims on the occasion of the Holy month of Ramadan    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Syrian rebels seize another crossing on Turkish border
Published in The Saudi Gazette on 20 - 09 - 2012

AKCAKALE, Turkey — Syrian rebels seized their third border crossing with Turkey Wednesday, a Turkish official said, after fierce battles with government troops overnight that sent bullets flying into Syria's northern neighbor.
Television footage showed a rebel tearing down the Syrian flag on top of what appeared to be a customs building at the Tel Abyad frontier gate. Minutes earlier sporadic gunfire could be heard and black smoke rose from parts of the building.
“I can confirm that the gate has fallen. It is under the complete control of the rebels,” a Turkish official said on condition of anonymity.
There was no sign of any government troops at the crossing from television pictures broadcast live on CNN Turk.
The clashes, which started late Tuesday, were the first time insurgents fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad have asserted their grip over a border zone in Syria's Al-Raqqa province, most of which has remained solidly pro-Assad.
Rebels hold two other crossings on the northern border with Turkey. A third border point will strengthen their control in the north and put more pressure on Assad's army as the two sides battle for control of Syria's largest city Aleppo not far away.
The governor's office in the small town of Akcakale, on the Turkish side of the border post, ordered all schools in the town and the neighboring villages to close for the day and banned all agricultural work in the area.
“A heavy hail of bullets is landing here. We are scared. We had to stay in another house last night. We don't know what to do,” a man in his forties told CNN Turk hours before the post was seized.
“Teachers, everyone have left the school next to us, they have fled the area,” he said, standing only metres (yards) from the fence separating the countries.
Some 300 Syrians had fled over to Turkey around Akcakale to escape the fighting, the Turkish official said. Twenty-five rebels wounded during the clashes were also receiving medical treatment in Turkey.
Syrian jets bombed the Syrian town of Abu Kamal near the Iraqi border on Wednesday, Iraqi security officials and the mayor of Iraqi frontier town Al-Qaim said. The two towns are meters away from each other on the banks of the River Euphrates.
A Turkish woman and her daughter were wounded Tuesday night by stray bullets and an official said other bullets had smashed windows in several houses in Turkey along the border.
Ankara has yet to give a reaction to the fighting along its frontier but a similar incident earlier this year prompted a sharp rebuke from the government.
Turkey officially reported to the United Nations an incident in April in which at least five people, including two Turkish officials, were wounded when cross-border gunfire hit a Syrian refugee camp in Kilis further west along the frontier.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan then floated the idea of invoking NATO's Article 5 over the incident, saying the alliance had a duty to protect its members' borders.
Article 5 of the NATO treaty states that an armed attack against one of its members will be considered an attack against all members and allows for the use of armed force. — Reuters


Clic here to read the story from its source.