Turkey ready to act against Syria

Turkey is ready to act in unison with the Arab League if Syria fails to show good intentions to end an eight-month-old bloody crackdown, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Friday. He told a joint news conference with his Italian counterpart Giulio Terzi that he was ready to attend a meeting of Arab League foreign ministers that could take place on Sunday and that he was continuing consultations with the European Union, NATO and UN Security Council members. Davutoglu said Syria "must open its doors to observers," and that the patience of Turkey and Arab countries is "running out over the bloodshed in Syria." Giulio Terzi described the situation in Syria as a "worrying tragedy." The Arab League has threatened to impose sanctions on Syria unless it signs a deal on Friday to allow monitors into the country. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has recently hardened his stance against Assad and suggested for the first time the possibility of foreign intervention in Syria. Thus far, Ankara has given shelter to some 20,000 refugees who escaped the deadly crackdown by Syrian President Bashar Assad's security forces, and also housed Syrian opposition groups. Israeli security forces officials said Wednesday that they believe Turkey is nearing a military intervention in Syria, in order to create a secure buffer zone for opposition activists.