Syrian official media slams Turkish PM's "unauthorized" crossing into Syria

Syria's state news agency SANA slammed Sunday the "unauthorized" visit of Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to a Turkish tomb in Syria as "flagrant aggression."

Davutoglu has "slipped" into Syria to visit the historic tomb of Suleyman Shah, the grandfather of the founder of the Ottoman empire, near Syria's border with Turkey, SANA said, adding that the visit of the top Turkish official took place without the consent of the Syrian government.

The move is a "flagrant aggression" to the sovereignty of Syria and a violation to the international law, SANA added.

For his part, Davutoglu said earlier in the day in Turkey's southern city of Sanliurfa that a new tomb would be built as soon as possible to replace the temporary one, adding that "our flag will fly until eternity in Suleyman Shah's residence inside Syrian soil."

In February, Turkey launched a military operation into Syria to evacuate some 40 soldiers guarding the tomb of Suleyman Shah, an enclave of Turkey in Syria around 25 km from the Turkish border, as the venue is located among villages controlled by the Islamic State (IS) militants.

During the operation, the Turkish forces relocated the historic tomb from the Jaabar Citadel on the Euphrates to Ashma village which is sited 200 meters from the border with Turkey.

The Syrian government then condemned the Turkish move, accusing Ankara of supporting the terrorist groups in Syria.

Turkey has emerged throughout the Syrian crisis as a main sympathizer with the rebellion against the administration of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. While, the Syrian government accuses Turkey of allowing the foreign militants to cross into Syria from Turkey freely.

Recently, reports emerged about Turkey's bid to host a training camp for the Syrian rebels on its territory in coordination with the United States. Endit