NEW EUROPE.-Turkey strikes back .By ALIA PAPAGEORGIOU

Protests in Ankara, Turkey against shelling in Syria | AFP PHOTO/ADEM ALTAN

Turkish nationals hold a banner that reads "no to war" and speak in a megaphone during a protest in Ankara on 6 October , 2012.

Turkey hit back today against what it said was a fresh bombardment of its territory from the Syrian side, little more than 24 hours after UN condemnation of deadly cross-border shelling. 6 October is the fourth continuing day of retaliation from the Turkish side as insurgency within Syria also continues with bombings in Aleppo and Homs during the last week. 

On 4 October, Turkey’s parliament voted 320-129 to allow government to deploy Turkish military forces to foreign countries as New Europe reported during the past week .

Although there was no mention of Syria, the resolution came immediately after the events of 3 October.

Despite the fact that Syria apologised for the mortar bomb attacks describing them as an accident, the escalating tension between the two countries remains. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Turkish side decided to answer the attack with artillery fire which led to the killing of several Syrian troops. Yesterday, Zaman reported, that the Turkish army continued the strike and targeted Syria’s Tel Abyad district.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister, said in a statement on 3 October that the military operations were within the rules of engagement and were carried out following radar tracking. This was the first time Turkey answered Syrian attacks since the civil war started in the spring of 2011. It is worth noting that another incident took place in the recent past, when Syrian forces opened fire near a Turkish refugee camp.

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Alia Papageorgiou is the Managing Editor of New Europe Newspaper @New_Europe @eurocentrique http://www.about.me/eurocentrique