Yesterday, in the Turkish town of Akcakale, a shell fired across the nearby border with Syria hit a house, killing two women and three children.
The killings highlight the risk of neighbouring countries being drawn into the conflict that is gripping the Syrian nation. In response to the civilian deaths, Turkey retaliated with artillery attacks on Syrian military targets, killing fourteen soldiers.
Turkey has backed the rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad, and allows them to operate out of bases inside Turkey.
Following the civilian attack Turkey's parliament took session, and after three and a half hours of debate, they voted to approve a one year mandate for government to order military actions outside of Turkey, although Syria wasn't mentioned specifically.
RELATED: What Impact does Oil have on the Syrian Civil War?
Besir Atalay, the Turkish Deputy Premier, said that the decision does not give the government the command to go to war, but rather it is intended as a deterrent.
Atilla Sandikli, the chairman of the Turkish think-tank Bilgesam, confirmed that "Turkey has no intention to spark war, but the government felt the pressure to respond in the face of killings of its citizens, to avoid public reaction."
The Syrian Information Minister, Omran al-Zoubi, said that they are investigating the source of the attack, and offered his condolences to the Turkish people.
By. Charles Kennedy of Oilprice.com
Charles is a writer for Oilprice.com More