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Turkish and Syrian Forces in Tense Cross-Border Standoff
(Telegraph-UK) Adrian Blomfield - An elite Syrian army unit advanced to within a quarter of a mile of the Turkish border, expanding an onslaught against opponents of President Bashar al-Assad. Hundreds of Syrian civilians cut their way through a border fence into Turkey as they fled an advance by the army's Fourth Division and Presidential Guard, led by Assad's feared brother Maher. In Managh, soldiers roared through the streets in military vehicles mounted with machine guns, opening fire indiscriminately at terrified civilians, according to accounts by villagers. The offensive brought Syrian and Turkish troops into eye-contact for the first time, significantly worsening the increasingly noxious relationship between the two neighbors. Turkish troops withdrew a few hundred yards. But, in a message of intent, they donned combat helmets and mounted a large Turkish flag above their new positions. Turkey has ordered Assad to end the military operations in the north, dismiss his brother and institute immediate reform.