Syrian Arab News Agency S A N A
Ankara, SANA-Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has slipped into Syria purportedly to visit the historic tomb of Suleyman Shah, the grandfather of the founder of the Ottoman empire near Syria’s border with Turkey.
The unauthorized visit which happened without the Syrian government’s consent is a flagrant aggression against a sovereign country which is a UN member state and is a grave violation of international laws and accords.
The move is seen by many as propaganda stunt in the lead up to parliamentary elections scheduled for next June as the approval ratings of ruling Justice and Development party in Turkey are markedly slumping.
Last February, the Turkish forces, aided by terrorists from the Islamic state in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), have relocated the historic tomb in a Turkish military operation that breached a 1921 agreement between Turkey and France, the then occupation force.
The tomb was carried from near Qara Quzaq on the Euphrates to Ashma village which is sited 200 meters from the border with Turkey.
The tomb, which was originally located in an area controlled by ISIS, was spared the destruction done by the terror group to all mosques, churches and tombs in the area, which lends authenticity to charges that link the Turkish authorities to terror organizations in Syria.
The relocation of the tomb had prompted the Syrian Foreign Ministry to complain to the UN, demanding prompt measures against the Turkish regime for what it described as “a flagrant violation of Syria’s sovereignty.”
Manal Ismael/ Barry
