The latest onslaught on Kesab has prompted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government to protest to the United Nations that Turkey was providing cover to rebels crossing the border from its territory. In a message to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Damascus demanded that the Security Council denounce what it called a terrorist attack on Syrian territory.
Syrian state television made reference to the fighting in a breaking news alert, saying the army was “tackling attempts by terrorist gangs to infiltrate from Turkish territory and attack border crossings in northern Latakia province.”
KESSAB, SYRIA–The Armenian populated villages of Kesab (Kessab, Kasab), Syria were the target of three days of brutal cross-border attacks from Turkey by al-Qaeda affiliated armed bands, which have cost 80 lives and forced the civilian population of the area to flee for to neighboring hills, with many seeking safe-haven in the nearby cities of Latakia and Basit.