Photos: Tension over Syria conflict builds in Turkey
May 18, 2013
Riot police detain a protester during a protest against Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and his government's policy on Syria, in Ankara May 18, 2013. Erdogan said on Friday it would be up to the U.N. Security Council to decide whether to establish a no-fly zone inside Syria and said he backed the involvement of Russia and China in planned peace talks. The man on right is a passer-by, who did not take part in the protest, but stopped to ask the police to release the protester. REUTERS/Umit Bektas ( SYRIA-CRISIS/TURKEY-ZONE )
A riot police officer trips and falls as he chases a demonstrator during a protest against Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and his government's policy on Syria, in Ankara May 18, 2013. Erdogan said on Friday it would be up to the U.N. Security Council to decide whether to establish a no-fly zone inside Syria and said he backed the involvement of Russia and China in planned peace talks. REUTERS/Umit Bektas ( SYRIA-CRISIS/TURKEY-ZONE )
Turkish university students, who were protesting the explosions that killed tens of people in Reyhanli near the border with Syria last week, clashed with riot police at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, May 15, 2013.(AP Photo) ( Turkey Explosion Protest )
Riot police surround a protester during a protest against Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and his government's policy on Syria, in Ankara May 18, 2013. Erdogan said on Friday it would be up to the U.N. Security Council to decide whether to establish a no-fly zone inside Syria and said he backed the involvement of Russia and China in planned peace talks. REUTERS/Umit Bektas ( SYRIA-CRISIS/TURKEY-ZONE )
Riot police detain a demonstrator as they clash with demonstrators in Ankara, Turkey, Saturday, May 18, 2013. Public outrage over two car bombs that killed 51 people and wounded over 100 near the border with Syria continues a week after the bloody incident. People gathered across the nation in simultaneous protests Saturday and demonstrators chanted against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ErdoganÃs government for not being able to prevent the attacks. (AP Photo) ( Turkey Explosion Protest )
A protester shouts slogans against Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and his government's policy on Syria, during a demonstration in Ankara May 18, 2013. Erdogan said on Friday it would be up to the U.N. Security Council to decide whether to establish a no-fly zone inside Syria and said he backed the involvement of Russia and China in planned peace talks. REUTERS/Umit Bektas ( SYRIA-CRISIS/TURKEY-ZONE )
People of Reyhanli chant slogans as riot police block them on May 18, 2013, at Reyhanli in Hatay, during the funerals of the victims of a car bomb which went off on May 11 at Reyhanli in Hatay just a few kilometres from the main border crossing into Syria. The death toll in this bombingshas increased to 50 after another body was recovered and a victim died in hospital, the health minister was quoted as saying on May 14. The attacks also provoked a backlash against Syrian refugees in Turkey, whose number is around 400,000 but government officials have repeatedly warned against provocations and said Turkey will maintain its open-door policy for Syrians fleeing the regime's crackdown. STR/AFP/Getty Images ( 519830107 )
Riot policemen face protestors on May 18, 2013, at Reyhanli in Hatay during the funerals of the victims of a car bomb which went off on May 11 at Reyhanli in Hatay just a few kilometres from the main border crossing into Syria. The death toll in twin car bombings in a Turkish town near the Syrian border has increased to 50 after another body was recovered and a victim died in hospital, the health minister was quoted as saying on May 14. The attacks also provoked a backlash against Syrian refugees in Turkey, whose number is around 400,000 but government officials have repeatedly warned against provocations and said Turkey will maintain its open-door policy for Syrians fleeing the regime's crackdown. STR/AFP/Getty Images ( 519830566 )
People of Reyhanli chant slogans as riot police block them on May 18, 2013, at Reyhanli in Hatay, during the funerals of the victims of a car bomb which went off on May 11 at Reyhanli in Hatay just a few kilometres from the main border crossing into Syria. The death toll in this bombingshas increased to 50 after another body was recovered and a victim died in hospital, the health minister was quoted as saying on May 14. The attacks also provoked a backlash against Syrian refugees in Turkey, whose number is around 400,000 but government officials have repeatedly warned against provocations and said Turkey will maintain its open-door policy for Syrians fleeing the regime's crackdown. STR/AFP/Getty Images ( 519830094 )
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 16: U.S. President Barack Obama (R) and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey walk into the Rose Garden to speak to the media at the White House, May 16, 2013 in Washington, DC. President Obama answered questions on the IRS Justice Department invesigation and talked about the situation with Syria. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images) ( 168882611 )
Relatives of 39-year-old Mehmet Tas, a victim of a car bomb attack, lower his coffin into a grave in the town of Reyhanli in Hatay province near the Turkish-Syrian border May 15, 2013. Tas was one of the 50 people to have been killed by two bomb attacks in Reyhanli over the weekend. Turkey's prime minister will push U.S. President Barack Obama for more assertive action on Syria during a visit to Washington this week, days after car bombs tore through Reyhanli in the deadliest spillover of violence yet. REUTERS/Umit Bektas ( TURKEY/ )
Relatives mourn around the coffin of Mehmet Tas, a 39-year-old father of five children on May 15, 2013 during the funerals of the victims of a car bomb which went off on May 11 at Reyhanli in Hatay just a few kilometres from the main border crossing into Syria. The death toll in twin car bombings in a Turkish town near the Syrian border has increased to 50 after another body was recovered and a victim died in hospital, the health minister was quoted as saying on May 14. The attacks also provoked a backlash against Syrian refugees in Turkey, whose number is around 400,000 but government officials have repeatedly warned against provocations and said Turkey will maintain its open-door policy for Syrians fleeing the regime's crackdown. BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images ( 519745781 )
A man reads from the Koran as others listen during the funeral of 55-year-old Kemal Baz, a victim of a car bomb attack, in the town of Reyhanli in Hatay province near the Turkish-Syrian border May 15, 2013. Baz was one of the 50 people to have been killed by two bomb attacks in Reyhanli over the weekend. Turkey's prime minister will push U.S. President Barack Obama for more assertive action on Syria during a visit to Washington this week, days after car bombs tore through Reyhanli in the deadliest spillover of violence yet. REUTERS/Umit Bektas ( TURKEY/ )
A police officer stands next to a statue of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, as he waits for the arrival of Turkey's President Abdullah Gul in the town of Reyhanli, in Hatay province near the Turkish-Syrian border May 16, 2013. Gul criticised the world's response to the Syria conflict on Thursday as limited to "rhetoric", saying his country had received little help in coping with a huge influx of Syrian refugees. "The international community's contribution to Turkey's financial aid to these people who are in a difficult situation is only symbolic," Gul told reporters in Reyhanli where car bombs killed 51 people at the weekend. REUTERS/Umit Bektas ( SYRIA-CRISIS/TURKEY )
This picture released by the Turkish Presidential Press office shows Turkish President Abdullah Gul (R) greeting people as he visits one of the two blast sites, which resulted in the deaths of 51 people over the weekend, in the town of Reyhanli, in Hatay province near the Turkish-Syrian border, on May 16, 2013. AFP PHOTO/ TURKISH PRESIDENCY/Ayhan Arfat/AFP/Getty Images ( 519770209 )
Demonstrating students gather in Ankara on May 15, 2013 during a protest against government policies they say resulted in last weekend's deadly twin bombings. Some 300 students hurled stones at the police as they vowed that those behind the car bombs in Reyhanli, near the Syrian border, "will pay a price" and demanded the resignation of Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. The attacks on Saturday, the deadliest in Turkey in years, killed at least 51 people and increased fears that the two-year conflict in Syria was dragging in neighbouring states. ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images ( 519740976 )
TOPSHOTS A Turkish policeman fires tear gas at demonstrating students in Ankara on May 15, 2013 who had gathered to protest against government policies they say resulted in last weekend's deadly twin bombings. Some 300 students hurled stones at the police as they vowed that those behind the car bombs in Reyhanli, near the Syrian border, "will pay a price" and demanded the resignation of Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. The attacks on Saturday, the deadliest in Turkey in years, killed at least 51 people and increased fears that the two-year conflict in Syria was dragging in neighbouring states. ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images ( 519741542 )
Riot police use water cannon against students in Istanbul on May 16, 2013 during a protest against government policies they say resulted in last weekend's deadly twin bombings. Some 500 students hurled stones at the police as they vowed that those behind the car bombs in Reyhanli, near the Syrian border, "will pay a price" and demanded the resignation of Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. The attacks on Saturday, the deadliest in Turkey in years, killed at least 51 people and increased fears that the two-year conflict in Syria was dragging in neighbouring states. OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images ( 519773210 )
Turkish President Abdullah Gul waves as he visits the scene of the twin car bombings on May 16, 2013 during the funeral of victims of the bombings at Reyhanli in Hatay. The attacks on May 11, the deadliest in Turkey in years, killed at least 51 people and increased fears that the two-year conflict in Syria was dragging in neighbouring states. BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images ( 519767129 )
People rebuild their buildings on May 15, 2013 at the Turkish town of Reyhanli in Hatay, just a few kilometres from the main border crossing into Syria, following twin blasts on May 11. The death toll in twin car bombings in Reyhanli has increased to 50 after another body was recovered and a victim died in hospital, Turkish health minister was quoted as saying on May 14. The attacks also provoked a backlash against Syrian refugees in Turkey, whose number is around 400,000 but government officials have repeatedly warned against provocations and said Turkey will maintain its open-door policy for Syrians fleeing the regime's crackdown. Authorities in Turkey have pointed the figure at the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the twin car bombs, the deadliest attack since the conflict in Syria broke out two years ago. BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images ( 519739831 )
People gather in front of an illegal fuel depot on May 17, 2013, after suspects set ablaze the depot located in the basement of a three-storey building in a small village near Turkey's border with Syria, triggering a strong explosion that killed at least ten people and wounded nine others. Among the wounded were three suspected smugglers as well as several security officers, Anatolia news agency reported. STR/AFP/Getty Images ( 519813799 )
Men carry a coffin on May 17, 2013, after suspects set ablaze an illegal fuel depot located in the basement of a three-storey building in a small village near Turkey's border with Syria, triggering a strong explosion that killed at least ten people and wounded nine others. Among the wounded were three suspected smugglers as well as several security officers, Anatolia news agency reported. STR/AFP/Getty Images ( 519810734 )
Forensic police officers work inside an illegal fuel depot on May 17, 2013, after suspects set ablaze the depot located in the basement of a three-storey building in a small village near Turkey's border with Syria, triggering a strong explosion that killed at least ten people and wounded nine others. Among the wounded were three suspected smugglers as well as several security officers, Anatolia news agency reported. STR/AFP/Getty Images ( 519813776 )
In this photo taken Sunday, May 12, 2013, Syrian refugees shelter in a two-story wedding ceremony hall in the Turkish town of Reyhanli, near the border with Syria. Hundreds of Syrians, mostly women and children, who have fled the civil war in their country have found refuge in the building. Reyhanli was hit two powerful car bombings in a that killed 51 people. The government blamed the attacks on a group linked to Syria. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici) ( Turkey Syrian Refugees )
In this photo taken Sunday, May 12, 2013, Syrian refugees shelter in a two-story wedding ceremony hall in the Turkish town of Reyhanli, near the border with Syria. Hundreds of Syrians, mostly women and children, who have fled the civil war in their country have found refuge in the building. Reyhanli was hit two powerful car bombings in a that killed 51 people. The government blamed the attacks on a group linked to Syria. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici) ( Turkey Syrian Refugees )
People stand around a damaged building as officers work in debris on May 15, 2013 at Reyhanli in Hatay, just a few kilometres from the main border crossing into Syria. The death toll in twin car bombings in a Turkish town near the Syrian border has increased to 50 after another body was recovered and a victim died in hospital, the health minister was quoted as saying on May 14. The attacks also provoked a backlash against Syrian refugees in Turkey, whose number is around 400,000 but government officials have repeatedly warned against provocations and said Turkey will maintain its open-door policy for Syrians fleeing the regime's crackdown. BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images ( 519731749 )