Special to WorldTribune.com

ANKARA — The opposition, on the eve of elections, has warned of a Turkish invasion of Syria.

The opposition has charged that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has already banned Twitter, could order military operations in Syria on the eve of municipal elections on March 30.

Opposition leaders said an invasion could mark a last-minute attempt by Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party to stave off defeat.

“He [Erdogan] could decide to move the army into Syria before the elections,” opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said.

In a television interview on March 19, Kilicdaroglu pointed to Turkish
media reports that the military was on alert for an operation in northern
Syria. The reports, which quoted those close to Erdogan, said Ankara was
concerned over the prospect of an attack on a tomb in the Aleppo province 30
kilometers from the Turkish border.

“We have receive unconfirmed information,” Kilicdaroglu said. “Everyone
should be very careful.”

On March 20, Turkey’s state-owned media reported an attack on security
forces in which two officers were killed in the Nigde province. The Anadolu
News Agency said the attackers were believed to have been fighters from the
Al Qaida’s Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

“This is very serious,” Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said.
“They might be trying to heat up the election atmosphere.”

Turkish sources said Erdogan, who over the last two years gained
exclusive control over the military, has ordered the Turkish Air Force to
monitor the shrine of Suleiman Shah, claimed as Turkish territory. They
said the air force assigned two U.S.-origin F-16 multi-role fighters to
patrol the tomb and repel any attack by Al Qaida or the Syrian government.

“I’d like to address the chief of staff: Don’t send Turkey on an
adventure, especially when there is a shady prime minister in charge, who
also jailed the previous chief of staff as a terrorist,” Kilicdaroglu said.

  Besir Atalay, Justice and Development Party, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Opposition: Erdogan may invade Syria as electoral challenge looms