Reports: Turkey Poised to Send Soldiers to Northern Syria to Create ‘Buffer Zone’

Turkish PM Slams Assad Regime Crackdowns, Urges 'Comprehensive Reforms'

by Jason Ditz, June 16, 2011

With nearly 10,000 Syrian refugees already having crossed into Turkey and another 12,000 refugees along the border, fearing a massacre and preparing to flee, the Turkish government is becoming increasingly vocal about the Assad regime’s crackdown.

Now not only did Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan demand the regime end its crackdown and begin “comprehensive reforms,” but there are even reports that the Turkish government is preparing military intervention to prevent chaos on its southern border.

Those reports, which quote unnamed Turkish officials, have the Turkish military making preparations to move into northern Syria to create a “buffer zone” for refugees, allowing them to remain inside Syria but safe from the Syrian military’s crackdown.

The prospect, as well as increasingly open condemnations from the Turkish government about the Syrian policies suggest that the long-standing friendship between the two nations is in serious danger, making the Assad family’s position considerable weaker.

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