Erdogan Government lets suspicious trucks near Syria border go

Turkish security forces have let seven trucks suspected to be carrying weapons near the Syrian border go after they discovered that Turkish intelligence officials were onboard, reports say.

On Sunday, local media reported that the forces stopped and searched the trucks and arrested three of the drivers, but freed them after a while.

Later in the day, local officials said that people from Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) were on the vehicles and they were on duty. They did not explain further.

Huseyin Celik, a spokesman for the ruling Justice and Development Party, said that the material in the trucks “is nobody’s business.”

The Turkish government has been accused of sending weapons to foreign-backed militants fighting against the Syrian government and allowing foreign extremists to cross the border to fight in the Arab country.

A British defense study showed that about 100,000 militants, fragmented into 1,000 groups, are fighting in Syria against the government and people.

The extracts of the study by defense consultancy IHS Jane’s were published on September 16, 2013.

IHS Jane’s estimates that some 10,000 militants are fighting for groups affiliated with al-Qaeda and the rest fight for different militant groups.

The analysis also said that a large number of extremists from foreign countries are active in Syria.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since March 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies — especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey — are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.

According to the United Nations, more than 100,000 people have been killed and millions displaced due to the violence.