Roundup: Turkey builds up troops along Syria border as precautionary move

Turkey has reinforced troops deployment along Syrian border amid fighting in the north of Syria, with rising speculations of possible Turkish incursion into the Arab nation's territory.

Several battalion units from special commando forces stationed in Tunceli, Bolu and other provinces, as well as some mechanized units from brigades, were dispatched to the border area.

Senior commanders are also in the border region overseeing security measures, local media reported on Friday.

Turkey was concerned that fighting between Kurdish forces and militants of the Islamic State (IS) group may prompt another exodus from Syria, adding more refugee burden on Turkey which is already home to close to two million refugees.

Syrian rebels' offensive to take the city of Aleppo has also escalated tension. The rebels are also battling with the IS on the outskirts of Aleppo.

Turkey's acting Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu ruled out on Friday any intervention into Syria for the time being, describing the reinforcements simply as a precautionary move.

However, he added that "if there's any circumstance across the border that threatens Turkey's security, orders to act have been given (to the military)."

Turkish opposition is concerned that the caretaker government led by Davutoglu may stage an incursion into Syria to reap political benefit in the short-run during a likely snap election in November.

The leader of the main opposition Republican Peoples' Party (CHP), Kemal Kilicdaroglu, has warned that any military intervention in Syria would spell a disaster for Turkey.

"Even before a government has been established, the drums of war are being beaten for vested interests," he said.

The national elections last month have cost the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to lose its majority in the parliament which it has enjoyed for 13 years.

Turkish analysts believe that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is the former chairman of the AKP, wants the military to go in and hopes that the nationalistic fever will help him regain the party's popularity.

"Erdogan seems to desire some sort of war so that he can be hero who would be applauded by nationalist Turks," Ihsan Yilmaz, president of the Istanbul Institute, commented.

The new government has not yet established in Turkey after the inconclusive elections on June 7. The coalition talks are still ongoing although with a downbeat note as many expect early elections before the year is out.

Former Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis said that a military incursion into Syria in the absence of a mandate from the UN Security Council (UNSC) would be tantamount to invading another country.

"Only a UNSC decision would provide legitimacy to such an incursion," he noted, stressing that the interference may create troubles for Turkey.

Turkey has long been advocating a formation of a secure or safe zone inside Syria to stem the waves of refugees, while countering threats from both Kurdish and IS fighters.

Major powers including Turkey's NATO ally, the United States, are opposed to such a move.

Washington also see the IS as a priority threat and does not share Ankara's concern over Kurdish advances in northern Syria.

"There is a larger issue here, and that is the growth of IS in Iraq and in Syria," U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday.

He added that Washington understands Turkish concerns over recent Kurdish gains.

Turkish President Erdogan has recently remarked that a possible Kurdish statehood in the area would never be tolerated.

"We will not allow for the formation of a state in the north of Syria," he said in response to Kurdish fighters' takeover of the town of Tell Abyad from the hands of the IS.

Having a large population of Kurdish minority, Turkey fears that an independent Kurdish region in the north of Syria may complicate matters.

It is also not clear which threat Turkey hopes to neutralize with a possible incursion into Syria.

"The target in this motion, which will take Turkey into chaos, is uncertain," Abdulhamit Bilici, a foreign policy expert, said. Endit