Turkish troops on full alert on Syrian border

Turkish military forces are on red alert along Turkey's border with Syria, while the US-led coalition continues to hit Islamic State of Iraq and the Levent (ISIL) targets unabated in its war-torn neighbour.

Howitzer cannons have been placed along critical points and air defence systems have been already activated in preparation for a direct threat on the country's borders or territory. Sixty-five thousand troops are now on duty at 317 military posts along the 910-km long Turkey-Syria border.

The military posts, built in border provinces such as Şanlıurfa, Mardin and Şırnak, are equipped with 1,200 military tanks, a large number of armoured vehicles and armoured personnel carriers. The border units, on duty for 24 hours, have clamped down on infiltrators attempting to cross into Syria illegally to join ISIL through Turkey.

Ankara clearly expresses its concerns over the activities in the ISIL-held areas, near its border with Syria. Turkish government believes if ISIL's advance cannot be stopped, it may take control of Turkey's Öncüpınar crossing and get closer to the Cilvegözü border gate in the southern province of Hatay.

In recent months, Ankara and Washington have agreed on the imposition of an ISIL-free zone in northern Syria that also enables establishing a safe zone along the border with Turkey. Ankara has long called for the creation of safe zones for internally-displaced Syrians to take shelter.

However, the head of the UN refugee agency warned that proposals to set up safe zones inside Syria should not be seen as an alternative to accepting people seeking asylum from the conflicti according to the Guardian. “Safe areas should not undermine the right of people to seek and enjoy asylum. Safe areas could not be seen as a deposit for refugees," said the UNHCR chief, Antonio Guterres.