Military Review English Edition March-April 2014 | Page 50

Syria’s oil and gas resources. The fighting took
place along large parts of Turkey’s Syrian border.
With the start of fighting between Al-Nusrah Front
elements and the PYD (which Turkey considers
an extension of the PKK), Turkey finds itself in
a dilemma: the government in Ankara does not
want its border to become like Afghanistan, but it
is also opposed to what it considers an extension
of the PKK’s control in the region.
On 15 October 2013, the Turkish Army
announced that it had fi red on fi ghters of the
Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham in retaliation
for a stray mortar shell that hit Turkish soil. This
was the first time the Turkish Army responded to
al-Qaida-linked targets in Syria.
The presence of jihadi groups on its longest
border leaves Turkey with concern about what
security analysts are calling the Afghanisation risk
in Syria.27 The diverse dissenting groups in Syria
are not united in their goals and ideologies.28 Initially, they appeared to be united against a common

enemy and obtained military and political assistance from outside actors and Muslim networks
offering support. More recently however, these
groups have started turning against each other
or becoming instruments of their respective supporters. The mujahid groups in Afghanistan also
displayed a strong resistance during 10 years of
occupation by the Soviet Union. However, once
the occupation was ove