One of the globe’s most unstable regions was roiled further Tuesday when a Russian jet was downed near the Turkish-Syria border. Turkey claimed it “reacted” to a plane after the airplane repeatedly breached its airspace and neglected a number of warnings.
NATO Issues Meeting To Discuss Russian Jet incident
Turkey’s semi-official Anadolu news agency quoted Turkish presidential sources in reporting that the Russian Su-24 was ‘hit within the framework of engagement rules’ in Syria’s Bayirbucak area, near the boundary with Turkey. But Russia’s state-run Sputnik news agency claimed that according to preliminary records, the plane was gunned down from the ground.
Russian authorities argue that the Russian Jet had actually breached Turkish airspace. Both aviators ejected from the aircraft, but their whereabouts are unidentified, Sputnik said.
Turkey released a purported picture of the flight path of the airplane revealing that it had breached Turkish airspace. Turkey stated it issued 10 warnings to the airplane prior to responding ‘within engagement rules’ near the Turkey-Syria border.
But the Russian Defense Ministry stated that objective surveillance confirmed the plane was not in Turkish airspace. Russian authorities claimed among its warplanes was obliterated by ground fire in north Syria. The Su-24 bombing jet remained in Syrian airspace at the altitude of 6,000 meters, the Russian Defense Ministry said. The pilots were able to parachute out of the jet before it crashed.
Syria Is At the Center of Terror
Syria has been embroiled in a brutal civil war for 4 and a half years that has killed countless people, made millions of refugees, and laid waste to entire cities. Turkey emphatically opposes the Syrian program of Bashar al-Assad. Russia is propping up the Assad regime.
Skirmishes between Turks and Syrians have taken place in the past, with Turkish officials charging Syrian aircraft of violating Turkish air space. According to Turkish reports, the minute of the aircraft falling into Bayirbucak region throughout from Hatay’s Yayladagi was captured on video camera, the pilot’s evacuation via parachute was also caught. Heavy smoke has been seen in the location where the aircraft dropped.
This kind of case was inevitable, given the number of nations included either directly or indirectly in the Syrian war. Currently, the United States, Russia, France, the Gulf states, Turkey, and Israel are involved in one way or another in military activity in Syria.
This is the Last thing We Need Right Now
With these kinds of tensions on the rise, the fight against ISIS may be hindered and redirected. Both nations must do everything in their power to focus on the battle that needs to be fought right now. Hopefully, the tensions will be alleviated in time for them to get back on task, as the world needs to show the Islamic State that terrorism cannot and will not win.
