Turkish Military Operation to Historical Tomb in Syria
Turkish military held an operation to the tomb of Suleyman Shah outside Syria’s Karakozak village, the only Turkish soil outside Turkey.
With surrounding region controlled by ISIS, 38 Turkish Army troops were unable to leave the headquarters for 8 months. Detachments were normally held every six months.
The operation on Saturday night brought the soldiers and remains of Suleyman Shah - the grandfather of Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman Empire.
On the other hand, Turkish Army authorities released a statement saying that one chief sergeant was killed during the operation due to an accident.
Syrian government said that the operation was an “overt aggression” and added that Ankara government will be responsible for the operation’s consequences.
According to Reuters, the Turkish government had informed the Syrian consulate in Istanbul about the operation but had not awaited Syria's agreement - a violation of the 1921 accord.
Kurdish YPG forces also released a statement that the operation was held within the information of their authorities and their forces took an active role.
“Our forces which assigned within the region under our control to take responsibilities for the taking up positions and reinforcement of Turkish soldiers during their withdrawal have fully completed their duty,” YPG Press Center said according to Firat News Agency (ANF).
What happened to the tomb?
38 Turkish Army soldiers were positioned in Suleyman Shah Saygı Headquarters under 20th Armored Brigade 3rd Border Regiment 2nd Battalion - an army unit originally located in the southeastern province of Urfa.
Following the eviction of Suleyman Shah’s remains and other military equipment, the site has been destroyed and left abandoned by Turkish soldiers.
It was reported that the tomb would relocated to Eşmesi village in Syria, located 200 meters south from Turkish border.
Tomb of Suleyman Shah **
The Tomb of Suleyman Shah (Turkish: Süleyman Şah Türbesi) is a site situated in Aleppo Governorate, Syria. It is the burial place of Suleyman Shah, the grandfather of Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman Empire. He is believed to have drowned in the Euphrates river in modern-day Syria and an Ottoman tomb in or near Qal'at Ja'bar has been associated with Suleyman Shah.
In accordance with Article 9 of the Treaty of Ankara signed between France and Turkey in 1921, the tomb "shall remain, with its appurtenances, the property of Turkey, who may appoint guardians for it and may hoist the Turkish flag there". The Treaty does not state that the tomb is deemed to be the territory of Turkey.
Since 2014, the official position of Turkey appears to be that the land around the tomb is the sovereign territory of Turkey. However, no other state, including Syria, has publicly supported this position. The Syrian position is that the relocation of the tomb in 2015 is a breach of the Treaty of Ankara. (EKN/BM)
* Photo credit: Okan Özer / AA
** bianet used wikipedia for the drafting of this part.
*** This article has been compiled from several article on bianet Turkish website.