Turkey approves more attacks against Syria

AKCAKALE, Turkey -- Turkey sanctioned further military action against Syria yesterday and bombarded targets across the border with artillery for a second day, raising the stakes in a conflict that increasingly is bleeding beyond Syrian borders.

Although both sides moved to calm tensions, Turkey's parliament overwhelmingly approved a bill allowing the military to conduct cross-border operations into Syria, making clear that Ankara has military options that do not involve its Western or Arab allies.

It was the most dramatic escalation in tensions between the countries, which were close allies before the revolt against Syrian President Bashar Assad began in March 2011. Over the past 18 months, Turkey has become one of the strongest critics of the Syrian regime, accusing it of savagery and massacres against the opposition.

The rebels trying to bring down Assad have used Turkey as their base, enraging a regime that accuses foreign countries of fomenting unrest in Syria.

The spark for the latest hostility was a mortar shell fired from Syria that slammed into a house in the Turkish border village of Akcakale on Wednesday, killing two women and three children.

The Turkish response to the Syrian shelling was swift. It fired salvos of artillery rounds into Syria, contacted its NATO allies and convened Parliament for a vote authorizing further cross-border military operations if necessary.

The bill opens the way for unilateral action by Turkey's armed forces inside Syria. Turkey has used a similar provision to repeatedly attack suspected Kurdish rebel positions in northern Iraq.

At the United Nations, the Security Council overcame deep divisions Thursday to unanimously approve a statement condemning Syria's shelling in Turkey "in the strongest terms." Council members bridged differences between the strong statement demanded by the United States and its Western supporters and backed by Turkey, and a weaker text pushed by Russia, Syria's most important ally.

Syria's UN envoy said his government was investigating the source of the cross-border shelling and did not want any escalation of violence with Turkey.

Ambassador Bashar Ja'afari said the Assad regime sent its "deepest condolences" to the families of the victims, but stopped short of an apology, pending the outcome of the investigation. He said that the return shelling from Turkey early yesterday injured two Syrian army officials.

Syrian opposition figures in Akcakale, which has a clear sight line into Syria, said the targets of Turkey's retaliatory attacks included a tank and an anti-aircraft gun in the town of Tal Abyad in Raqqa province, where the Syrian regime and rebels are battling for control.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday that Turkey did not want war with Syria but was determined to protect its borders and its people. Erdogan suggested the Syrian shelling was not accidental, saying that shells had fallen on Turkish territory on seven previous occasions since the civil war began.