Syrian warplanes tore along the Turkish frontier early on Monday and bombed the rebel-held town of Rasulayn just meters inside the border, sending scores of civilians scrambling for safety into Turkey. The offensive has caused some of the biggest refugee movements since the Syrian conflict began nearly 20 months ago. Though Turkey is reluctant to be drawn into a regional conflict, the proximity of Monday's bombing raids marked a fresh test of its pledge to defend itself from any violation of its territory or any spillover of violence from Syria.
Turkey deployed fighter jets to Şanlıurfa's Ceylanpınar region, the Turkish border town across from Rasulayn, Haseki in order to ensure there is no border violation committed by Syrian troops.
Deployed from Diyarbakır and loaded with munitions, the F-16 fighter jets are stated to have been sent with the orders to shoot in the case of a border violation by Syrian aircraft. Sources say the Turkish jets have received the direct order to 'hit' in the case of a border violation detected during their patrol.
