ANKARA // Turkish prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu slipped across the border into Syria on Sunday to visit a historic tomb that was relocated earlier this year away from militant-controlled territory.
Mr Davutoglu, accompanied by his defence minister and army commanders, made the surprise visit to the tomb of Suleyman Shah, grandfather of the Ottoman empire’s founder Osman I, his office said.
The mausoleum now lies just 200 metres from the Turkish border inside Syrian territory, after Turkish soldiers in February staged an unprecedented incursion deep inside Syria to move the tomb from its previous location.
The government ordered the tomb – considered sovereign Turkish territory – to be moved due to security concerns as it was in an area controlled by ISIL militants.
Images from Mr Davutoglu’s visit showed him paying his respects at the tomb, which now lies in the settlement of Eshme and is easily visible from Turkish territory.
The relocation of the tomb sparked severe criticism from opposition parties which lambasted the operation as a retreat that meekly handed over the area to ISIL.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has rejected the criticism, saying the move was motivated by concerns that the tomb and Turkish guards could have come under attack from extremists, and was not a retreat.
Some opposition politicians claimed this week that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) might resort to military operations in Syria to boost its popularity ahead of a June 7 parliamentary election, a claim denied by Mr Davutoglu as “empty words”.
* Agence France-Presse