Erdogan rejects Syrian claim the Akcakale attack was accident

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdogan said Syrian statements that the Akcakale attack was an accident are unacceptable, stressing that his country will not let go of the issue by only sending a note to the Syrian side. Turkey responded to the Syrian attack and activated the international mechanisms in the United Nations and NATO and proved to the entire world that we are right, Erdogan said. He added that his country wants only peace and security in the region and does not want to go into war, but stressed that Turkey will protect its citizens and borders. "Those who attempt to test Turkey's deterrence, its decisiveness, its capacity, I say here they are making a fatal mistake." A Syrian mortar bomb fired across Turkish borders killed five civilians and injured nine others in the Turkish border town of Akcakale, prompting response from Turkey's army that launched retaliatory artillery strikes on a post in a Syrian border town believed to be the source of attack.