Turkey downs Syria warplane
Turkish fighter jets shot down a Syrian warplane on Sunday after it violated Turkish airspace, Turkey\’s prime minister said.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the Syrian plane violated Turkish airspace. Syrian state TV says the plane was pursuing rebels in Syrian territory.
Turkey and Syria – once allies – have more than 500 miles (800km) of common border.
A Syrian military source said the pilot was able to eject. A military spokesman described Turkey\’s action as "blatant aggression."
Erdogan warned Syria the "response will be heavy" if it violates Turkey\’s airspace.
Syrian rebels and government forces have been fighting for control of the Kasab border crossing in Syria\’s Latakia province for three days.
Meanwhile, political tensions sparked by the Syrian civil war continue to spill over in neighboring Lebanon. Supporters and opponents of Syria\’s President Bashar al-Assad fought in a Beirut neighborhood overnight. At least one person died in the gunbattle.
Hundreds of thousands have fled Syria for Turkey to escape the three-year uprising against President Assad.
More than 100,000 people have been killed since the Syrian conflict began.
According to UN figures, 6.5 million Syrians have been displaced by the civil war, and 2.5 million are registered as refugees. Lebanon has taken the highest number of refugees, followed by Jordan and Turkey.
Source: Agencies
The Times of Earth ( TOE) founded in 1999, is a multilingual newspaper that is printed and circulated in many countries including some parts of the United States and Canada. It is considered as the largest trusted & respected international multimedia news/financial information source of the world.