Turkish troops at border after Aleppo fighting intensifies

“But it’s wrong to expect that Turkey would undertake such a unilateral intervention in the immediate term if there is no such risk”, Davutoglu said.

Davutoglu said Turkey is aware of the cooperation between the warring parties as he alleged that the Islamic state and Damascus are cooperating in fighting against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the pro-Kurdish Syrian Democratic Union Party (PYD) which enjoy the support of the U.S-led coalition.

On Friday, Turkey reappointed a ex- defence minister who occupied the post for nearly a decade, after his successor was elected as parliamentary speaker.

Ankara has floated the creation of a “safe zone” on Syrian territory due to concerns about Syrian Kurd advances and the presence of fighters of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), as well as the possibility of a fresh wave of refugees fleeing conflict, with fighting north of the city of Aleppo having recently intensified.

Last month, Can Dündar, editor-in-chief of Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet, published a video online which purported to show trucks transporting arms operated by Turkey’s National Intelligence Organisation (MIT). “But these are definitely not preparations to cross the border”, he said, adding there was no plan to enter Syria unilaterally.

Anatolia news agency reported on Wednesday that Turkey had dispatched reinforcements to the southern border province of Kilis, including tanks, anti-aircraft weapons, armoured combat vehicles and military personnel.

Syrian state television said that the army had “foiled attempts to infiltrate Aleppo on several fronts, killing more than 100 terrorists” – the regime’s standard term for all rebel groups. If the deployments are reactive to the worsening situation, locals seem okay with it. If they are proactive attempts to further Turkish military goals, however, most fear they’ll just make things worse again.

Ansar al-Sharia launched a multi-district assault on government-held parts of Aleppo city on Thursday, in attacks that killed at least four civilians, the Observatory said.

Davutoglu said if Aleppo were cut off by fighting it could result in a massive new influx of people into Turkey.