Bus ambush

Two Turkish citizens were injured Monday when gunmen opened fire on a convoy of buses carrying pilgrims in northern Syria, according to local media reports.

Turkish NTV news said the driver of one of the three buses and a pilgrim were injured in the attack at a checkpoint just across the Syrian border. Private news agency Dogan showed images of a passenger bus with one of its side windows smashed, apparently from a gunshot, after it returned from Syria to the border town of Cizre.

A Turkish official with the Foreign Ministry said he was aware of the incident and that the ministry was working to establish the details.

"We confirm that an attack took place in Syria," the official told the AFP news agency, without reporting casualties or giving further information.

'Your days are numbered'

Turkey, which shares a 910-kilometer (570-mile) border with Syria, has become increasingly critical of Syrian President Bashar al-Asaad's ongoing bloody crackdown on anti-government protests, which has severely damaged ties between the two former allies.

Last week, attacks on Turkish diplomatic missions in Syria by pro-Assad crowds led Ankara to evacuate diplomats' families in Damascus. Monday's attack on the Turkish bus convoy, however, appeared to be the first of its kind since the violence in Syria started in March.

"You can remain in power with tanks and cannons only up to a certain point. The day will come when you'll also leave," Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said of Assad at a meeting in Istanbul on Monday.

Erdogan is considering imposing economic sanctions on Assad's government, including the halting of joint oil exploration, and officials have said there are contingency plans for the Turkish military to establish a buffer or no-fly zone inside Syrian territory to protect civilians there from Assad's security forces.

Author: Gabriel Borrud (AFP, Reuters)
Editor: Martin Kuebler