Gen. Ozel assures Turkey's security amid escalating tension on border

Chief of General Staff Gen. Necdet Ozel said on Tuesday that whatever is required for the defense of the country is being done in the face of increasing mobilization, particularly with smuggling incidents, on the Turkey-Syria border. Attending the reception following Parliament's opening session, Ozel responded to questions from reporters. When asked if any extra precautions are being taken on the Syrian border, Ozel said: "Everything gets covered in the media. Whatever is required for the defense of the country is being done." On the increase in smuggling reports at Turkey's border to the south, Ozel said he and his staff have been entrusted with the protection of the borders against all smuggling and terrorist action and that they are taking all the necessary precautions against them. When reporters mentioned that smugglers were coming into Turkey in large groups, some consisting of up to 500 people, Özel said: "They are coming in crowded groups, but never forget that these people have supporters inside Turkey. If one [Syrian smugglers] brings, then another [Turkish customers] takes." The number of smuggling incidents has been on the rise on the Turkey-Syria border recently. On Monday, a Syrian smuggler was killed after stepping on a land mine while trying to cross into Turkey from Syria. In remarks on a warplane that crashed in Sivas on Monday, Ozel noted that Turkey has a dynamic army and that he trusts the pilots of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) since every hour 25-30 warplanes take off. Indicating that an investigation has been launched on the issue, Ozel said accidents are inevitable, just as there are also traffic accidents on highways. A Turkish warplane crashed on Monday in Kangal, a district of Sivas province; the pilots ejected in time. The F-4 fighter jet took off from Malatya's Erhac Air Base on Monday for training and crashed in a field five kilometers away from residential buildings. The pilots were reported to have been wounded but are not in critical condition. Meanwhile, officials have tightened security in Ceylanpinar after nearly 20 days of tranquility were disturbed by an eruption of violence in the Syrian border city of Ras al-Ain, a few hundred meters from the Turkish town. Clashes between the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra resumed in Ras al-Ain on Tuesday evening after nearly three weeks of calm, and the sound of gunfire raised concerns in the Turkish town just across the border. According to reports, the Ceylanpinar Municipality urged residents to stay away from the border for their safety. While armored vehicles were deployed along the border with Syria, soldiers kept residents away from the area. Businesses close to border were shut down by their owners as the din of explosions and gun battles rose. Ceylanpinar, where stray bullets from the Syrian side have killed a number of people and wounded nearly 40, is the Turkish town suffering the worst from the civil war in neighboring Syria. Ras al-Ain has been the scene of fierce fighting between opposition al-Nusra fighters and militants affiliated with the PYD, an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Clashes in the area have intensified lately between forces fighting against the Syrian regime and Kurdish militants.