Turkey prevents three truckloads of chemicals entering Syria

Sources in the Turkish army have revealed that Turkish authorities seized three truckloads of chemical materials at its border with Syria.

In a statement, Turkish chief of staff said that the materials were seized on Saturday in al-Rihaniyya in the south of the country. The materials could be used to produce chemical weapons.

The Turks said that three trucks were spotted trying to illegally enter Syria from Turkey. The statement said they could not have stopped them unless they shot live bullets at the trucks’ tires.

The drivers left their trucks and fled into Syria. Two of them crossed the border and the third was captured. The Turks did not disclose his identity.

The three truckloads contained sulfur and another undisclosed material. Experts are still examining them.

Turkey has been candidly supporting the Syrian revolution against Bashar al-Assad’s regime since March 2011. However, it has always denied supplying rebels with any kind of weapons.

Last Thursday, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons announced that it had finished inspecting all Syria’s chemical weapons warehouses.

The organisation was asked to go to Syria by the UN Security Council after a chemical attack claimed the lives of more than 1,400 Syrian citizens in August.