Turkey closes Syrian border crossing after alleged looting of Turkish trucks by FSA

Turkey closes Syrian border crossing after alleged looting of Turkish trucks by FSA .(TZ).Turkey has closed its Cilvegözü border gate with Syria after nine Turkish trucks were burned and several others were looted after Syrian opposition forces seized control of two border gates last week. Meanwhile, the Free Syrian Army (FSA), an armed opposition group composed mainly of defected Syrian soldiers, on Sunday captured a third border gate with Turkey. The FSA captured two other border crossings, Bab al-Hawa and Jarablus, on Thursday. The decision to close the border gate came after a security meeting, chaired by the governor of the border province of Hatay, Mehmet Celalettin Lekesiz, on Saturday. The meeting was convened after it emerged that nine Turkish trucks had been burned near the Bab al-Hawa border gate. A Turkish driver, identified as Ahmet Yılmaz, has been taken captive. Turkish officials said on Sunday that the driver safely arrived in Turkey, without elaborating. Of 30 trucks, 19 had been returned to their owners. An estimated further nine were burned out, and the rest were still being held inside Syria, Lekesiz told reporters after the meeting. The question of who is responsible for the looting, however, is yet to be answered. The governor has blamed “independent groups” involved in smuggling activities for the looting and burning of the Turkish trucks, while truck drivers complained of the FSA, saying its fighters destroyed the Turkish trucks and have done nothing to stop the looting. “We assess that the incidents of looting and burning were carried out by independent groups that live on smuggling and other [illegal] acts,” the governor said. Countering the governor's account, French news agency AFP reported on Saturday that FSA fighters were seen handing out the contents of the trucks to local people on Friday at the Bab al-Hawa border post. “All of our trucks were burned. The rebel fighters destroyed our trucks during the clashes,” Ali Cengiz, who exports goods to Saudi Arabia via Syria, was quoted as saying by the agency. Syrian opposition forces ransacked customs buildings and pulled cargo from the back of stranded trucks, the report also stated.However, Abdelbasset Seida, leader of Syria's main opposition umbrella group the Syrian National Council (SNC), contradicted the claims of both Turkish officials and the truck drivers, blaming pro-government gangs for the looting instead. Seida, during a visit to Hatay, described the looting as “unacceptable.”Hmmm......."Arab Spring"Read the full story here.