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world NEWSTuesday 1 December 2015

Turkey won’t apologize to Russia over warplane downing

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, left, and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg but refused to yield on Russian President Vladimir
address a media conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels on Monday, Nov. 30, 2015. NATO Turkish security. “No Turkish Putin, at the international
Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg met with the Turkish prime minister on Monday to discuss the prime minister or president climate talks in Paris, on
issue of a Russian warplane downed by a Turkish fighter jet at the border with Syria. will apologize ... because Monday said “we have
of doing our duty,” Davu- every reason to believe”
(AP Photo/Virginia Mayo) toglu told reporters after that the plane was shot
meeting with NATO Secre- down to protect what he
JAMEY KEATEN said Monday, stressing that ic sanctions announced tary-General Jens Stolten- described as Turkish profi-
Associated Press the military was doing its against Turkish interests fol- berg in Brussels. “Protection teering from illegal imports
BRUSSELS (AP) — Turkey job defending the coun- lowing last week’s incident. of Turkish airspace, Turkish of oil produced by Islamic
won’t apologize to Russia try’s airspace. The Turkish resort town of borders is a national duty, State rebels in Syria.
for shooting down a war- Ahmet Davutoglu also Antalya is “like a second and our army did their job The Russian air force said
plane operating over Syria, said Turkey hopes Moscow home” to many Russian to protect this airspace. But Monday that its Su-34 fight-
the Turkish prime minister will reconsider econom- holidaymakers, he said, if the Russian side wants to er bombers in Syria were
talk, and wants to prevent now armed with air-to-air
any future unintentional missiles for defense. Air
events like this, we are force spokesman Col. Igor
ready to talk.” Turkish F-16s Klimov said the missiles
shot down a Russian war- have a range of about 60
plane on Nov. 24, sparking kilometers (35 miles), Rus-
Cold War-style tensions be- sian news agencies report-
tween Russia and NATO, of ed.
which Turkey is a member. Russia began airstrikes
One of the Russian pilots in Syria on Sept. 30 that it
was killed, while a second says are focused on IS fight-
was rescued. ers. But some observers say
On Monday, the body of Russia is targeting other
Lt. Col. Oleg Peshkov, the rebel groups to bolster the
Russian pilot, was flown forces of Syrian President
back to Russia following a Bashar Assad. Russia insists
military ceremony in the that the plane that was
Turkish capital, Ankara, Tur- shot down didn’t intrude
key’s military said. on Turkish airspace.q

US-backed rebels, rival insurgents clash in Syria, 20 killed

BASSEM MROUE erate rebels fighting Syrian did not have figures for surgency against Ankara. officials and Syrian reb-
Associated Press President Bashar Assad’s fighters killed. He said the The YPG sees the plans for els say most of the strikes
BEIRUT (AP) — Fighting be- forces. The Britain-based fighting began when DFS a safe zone as an effort by have focused on central
tween U.S.-backed Syrian Syrian Observatory for Hu- launched an offensive and Turkey to use allied Syrian and northern Syria, where
rebels and rival militants man Rights said the fight- captured several villages rebel factions to block its IS does not have a strong
has killed more than 20 ing is concentrated near before being pushed back advance along the bor- presence.
people in northern Syria the town of Azaz, close by militants. “I think the aim der. Russia has been one of
over the past two days, to the border with Turkey. of this attack is to thwart After Turkey shot down the strongest supporters
opposition activists said on Azaz has been repeatedly attempts to set up a safe a Russian warplane over of President Bashar Assad
Monday. hit by Russian airstrikes in re- zone,” al-Halaby said via northern Syria last Tuesday, since the start of the upris-
The fighting between the cent days. The Observato- Skype. The DFS is led by the Russia has hit the highway ing in 2011.
so-called Democratic Forc- ry, which tracks Syria’s civil Kurdish People’s Protec- linking the town of Azaz The Observatory said on
es of Syria, which is led by war based on reports from tion Units, which has been with the Bab al-Salameh Monday that two months
Kurds, and Islamic militants activists inside the country, battling the Islamic State border crossing with Tur- of Russian airstrikes have
has flared in recent days said 15 militants and eight group across northern and key twice, killing seven and killed 1,502 people includ-
in the northern province of DFS fighters have been eastern Syria with the aid wounding ten people. ing 485 civilians. The group
Aleppo. Most of the fight- killed since Sunday. of U.S.-led airstrikes. Turkey Russia began an air cam- said that 419 IS fighters and
ing has taken place in the Bahaa al-Halaby, an op- views the Kurdish forces, paign in Syria on Sept. 30 598 gunmen with other
border area, where Turkey position activist based known by the acronym that Moscow says is intend- militant groups, including
is examining the possibility in Aleppo, said on Mon- YPG, as an extension of ed to weaken the Islamic al-Qaida’s affiliate in Syria,
of creating a safe zone to day that 20 civilians were the Kurdish PKK, which has State group and other “ter- the Nusra Front, were killed
protect civilians and mod- killed in the fighting but waged a decades-long in- rorists” in Syria, but Western in the air campaign.q