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Turkey Should 'Urgently Change Foreign Policy' to Ensure People's Safety

© AP PhotoTurkish soldiers patrol near the border with Syria, ouside the village of Elbeyli, east of the town of Kilis, southeastern Turkey
Turkish soldiers patrol near the border with Syria, ouside the village of Elbeyli, east of the town of Kilis, southeastern Turkey - Sputnik International
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On Monday, the southeastern Turkish city of Kilis was shelled from Syrian territory controlled by Daesh. As result of the attack, four people, three of them children, died and 19 were injured. Abidin Uslu, who witnessed the shelling, shared his impressions with Sputnik.

A Syrian woman and a child walks back towards the Syrian crossing, on February 8, 2016 at Turkish Oncupinar border gate near Kilis, southern-central Turkey - Sputnik International
Shelling From Daesh-Controlled Syrian Area Kills Four in Turkey's Kilis
Sputnik spoke with Abidin Uslu, head of the regional faction of the main oppositional Republican People's Party in the province of Kilis, who witnessed the shelling and was ready to share his impressions.

Commenting on the question of what could have caused the activation of Daesh and whether the attack was related to the recent talks in Geneva, he said:

"I can't exactly say if there is any connection, but it is clear that we urgently need to change our foreign policy, which is unable to ensure our safety."

The latest round of the intra-Syria talks started on April 13 in Geneva and according to the United Nations was supposed to focus on Syria's political transition, governance, and the constitution.

In this photo taken Tuesday, April 10, 2012, the border crossing between Turkey and Syria is seen from a refugee camp near the border, in Kilis , Turkey. - Sputnik International
People of Turkish City of Kilis Stage Rally Amid Shelling From Syria
However, Uslu doesn't believe in the successful outcome of the negotiations and said that they are unlikely to resolve the Syrian conflict.

"As for the Geneva talks, it is unlikely that they would be effective in their current form. I don't think that the negotiations with their current line-up can provide a solution to the Syrian conflict," the politician stated.

According to Uslu, the shelling caused panic among residents of Kilis. They pray for their lives and are afraid of leaving their homes. The politician said that his party repeatedly appealed to the Turkish government to review its foreign strategy and even organized protests, but to no avail.

"Nobody listens to us, no action is taken. The bombs keep falling. No one cares about us and we feel doomed. So, we keep waking up every day because of the bombings," Uslu concluded.

The shelling is not the first incident of that kind in the Turkish city. Kilis which hosts a large number of refugees has repeatedly been shelled from the Syrian territory, killing innocent civilians living in the area.

Earlier, Turkish officials assumed that territory might have been shelled by the Syrian Kurds, but representatives of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) denied the allegations. This year, Turkey has intensified shelling of the Kurds' positions in Syria, claiming that they have links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a group considered a terrorist organization by Ankara.

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