The revolution and pacts (48). Ring of bilateral pacts (x). Turkish provocation (II).Sayed el-Assaly added that in order to face the Zionist menace, Syria was ready to conclude similar agreements with other Arab countries. By ‘a certain Arab country', the Syrian Foreign Ministry's statement most probably meant Lebanon whose President Camille Shamun and Prime Minister Samy el-Solh were about to pay an official visit to Ankara (April 1,1955), as reported by The Egyptian Gazette. On the very next day (March 28, 1955), The Egyptian Gazette carried a report headlined: Syria accuses turks of violating her air space memorandum handed to Turkish envoy The Gazette report said: “A Syrian memorandum accusing the Turkish Air Force of violating Syrian air space was presented today to Turkey's new Minister (Ambassador), Adnan Koral, according to reliable sources here.” The memorandum, a reply to Turkey's protest alleging similar incursions by six Syrian military aircraft yesterday, says two Turkish planes flew over Derbesiye, north Syria, for 30 minutes yesterday. Another Turkish aircraft allegedly flew for 15 minutes in the same locality. Four [planes were also reported to have crossed the border on March 23. Official Syrian sources have denied the Turkish allegations. “A military spokesman said Turkey was amassing troops on the Turco-Syrian border. ‘Such acts are useless because Syria is determined not to lose her nerve”, he said. Months later, The Egyptian Gazette reported in its issue of October 12, 1955 that Syrian soldiers were killed by Turkish mine. The paper said: “Two Syrian soldiers were killed by a mine on Sunday night when their patrol was on duty between the towns of Akhas and Ezzaz on the Syrian-Turkish border....... Turkish authorities have recently planted mines and erected barbed wire in the border areas... The Syrian authorities have requested the removal of these mines, some of which are assumed to have been planted between 50 and 100 metres inside Syrian territory.” Commenting, the Damascus daily Al-Ayyam said that Syria deplored such incidents and she was eager to maintain friendly relations with Turkey in spite of the estrangement which had disturbed these relations as a result of the conclusion of the Turco-Iraqi Pact. Moreover, The Egyptian Gazette of November 5, 1955 reported continued tension along the Syro-Turkish border. It said that ‘Turkish and Syrian border patrols exchanges heavy fire for three hours when Turks attacked the Syrian village of Wakanak on the border. Sixteen Turkish soldiers openetrated into the Syrian border village of Kalkagah and drove away 20 heads of sheep. Contacts are going on between the Syrian and Turkish authorities to avoid border clashes which have recently increased.'
