Turkish opposition party leader: "Syria-bound trucks filled with US dollars"

Turkish opposition party leader: "Syria-bound trucks filled with US dollars" (TZ).

Trucks en route to Syria that were stopped last month in the southern province of Adana were carrying US dollars, Democratic Left Party (DSP) Chairman Masum Türker claimed on Sunday at a press conference for a municipal candidate.

The trucks, which were stopped by the Turkish gendarmerie, were reportedly filled with weapons and ammunition.

The Turkish government claimed that the Syria-bound vehicles contained humanitarian aid supplies for Syrian Turkmens caught in the middle of skirmishes between radical segments of the opposition and Kurdish forces.

“Within those aid supplies there were dollars; those dollars were being transported to Syria, to al-Qaeda. However, a portion those dollars was not intended for al-Qaeda, but was to be transported to another [internationally sanctioned] country by al-Qaeda,” Türker said, ostensibly referring to Iran. 

“Since when did the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) become the Red Crescent? The Red Crescent is the one supposed to be moving those aid materials, but in this case the National Intelligence Organization is doing so,” Türker continued.

Turkish news sources had previously reported that the trucks in question belonged to MİT. The Red Crescent (Kızılay) is Turkey's largest humanitarian organization.

In related news, the daily Taraf reported yesterday that previous weapons shipments had fallen into the hands of pro-Assad forces. Taraf, citing unnamed intelligence sources, said that some of these weapons -- intended for Syrian Turkmens -- had either been purchased or stolen by pro-Assad groups. The Taraf daily report added that the weapons were being closely monitored by the US and several European countries, which had warned Turkey several times against proceeding with the shipments.