Turks fear Saudi alliance will drag country into Syria
Opposition politicians in Turkey have charged President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with leading Turkey to war in Syria.
![MIDEAST CRISIS/KOBANI Turkish army tank takes position near Mursitpinar border crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in the southeasternTurkish town of Suruc in Sanliurfa provincee, October 18, 2014. A U.S.-led military coalition has been bombing Islamic State fighters who hold a large swathe of territory in both Iraq and Syria, two countries involved in complex multi-sided civil wars in which nearly every country in the Middle East has a stake.. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach (TURKEY - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTR4ANT](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/almpics/2015/05/RTR4ANT3.jpg/RTR4ANT3.jpg?h=f7822858&itok=sG7Rc4Lt)
Although Turkey has long been implicated in the depths of the Syrian crisis, the Turkish public is newly anxious over claims that the Turkish Armed Forces are preparing to invade Syria to set up a buffer zone, following the fall of Idlib in late March to the Jabhat al-Nusra-led Army of Conquest.
Amid widespread speculation that the government will declare war so it can cancel the upcoming legislative elections, Gursel Tekin, secretary-general of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), said on May 7, “Turkey will enter Syria with a military operation tonight or Friday.” Tekin claimed he had been tipped off by a reputable source and added, “I am calling on the prime minister. Please get up and say, ‘There is no such madness. That is a baseless claim. Deny what I said.’”