Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu briefly crossed into Syria on Sunday to visit the tomb of a revered Ottoman figure, Euronews reports.
He then vowed Turkey’s flag would fly there forever. The Syrian government condemned what it described as Davutoglu’s “infiltration” without its permission
The tomb of Suleyman Shah, grandfather of the founder of the Ottoman Empire, had originally been situated further inside Syria but was relocated to within a few hundred metres of the border in February in a Turkish military operation.
— where the remains of Suleyman Shah, the grandfather of the first Ottoman Sultan, are held in a tomb — to evacuate the tomb and some 40 guards, who had come under siege by Islamic State fighters.
Following evacuations, the contents of the tomb were moved to the village of Esme, closer to Turkey but still in Syrian territory under Kurdish control and, in addition, a major site along a route on which Ottoman forces led Armenians in death marches during the Armenian Genocide.